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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


ROBERT   DOLLAR 

President  of  the  Dollar  Steamsliip   Line 

President  of  the  San  Francisco  Merchants  Exchans 

Second  Vice  President  of  the 

Chamber  of  Commerce  of  San    Francisco 


Copyrighted  1912 

by  the 

Robert  Dollar  Company 


PRINTED  BY 

W.  8.  VAN  COTT  A  CO. 

San  Francisco 
1912 


PREFACE 

In  presenting  this  small  volume  to  my  friends,  it  is  done 
with  two  objects  in  view : 

First — Inasmuch  as  I  have  had  opportunities  such  as  many 
of  you  have  never  had,  to  visit  other  lands  and  get  in  close 
touch  with  their  peoples  both  in  a  business  and  social  way, 
I  felt  it  was  a  duty  I  owed  to  my  associates  to  give  them 
the  information  I  have  gathered  in  my  travels;  and  while  I 
have  made  a  pleasure  of  the  investigation  as  well  as  a  pleasure 
in  the  business  accomplished,  I  send  this  book  to  you  with  the 
hope  that  you  w'ill  at  least  derive  a  part  of  the  pleasure  in 
reading  it  that  I  did  in  writing  it  from  day  to  day. 

The  second  reason  for  its  publication  is  the  hope  that  it 
may  in  a  small  way  help  to  increase  and  strengthen  the  friendly 
relations  and  feelings  that  now  exist  between  the  United 
States  and  its  possessions,  the  Philippine  Islands,  China,  and 
Japan :  and  as  a  consequence,  to  increase  trade  and  commerce ; 
and,  if  possible,  to  increase  the  interest  in  shipping  so  that 
our  laws  may  be  changed  to  permit  us  to  own  and  sail  our 
own  ships  under  our  own  flag  to  the  end,  that,  by  her  Merchant 
Marine  and  Foreign  Commerce,  our  country  may  become  one 
of  the  Greatest  Commercial  Nations. 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  TRIP  TO  CHINA 

WITH  THE 

COMMERCIAL  COMMISSIONERS  OF  THE  ASSOCIATED 

CHAMBERS  OF  COMMERCE  OF  THE 

PACIFIC  COAST 

OUR  party  consists  of  twenty-three  men,  seventeen  ladies 
and  two  secretaries.  From  San  Francisco  to  Hono- 
lulu we  had  very  fine  weather  and  a  smooth  sea, 
getting  warmer  as  we  approached  the  latter  port.  The  party 
is  composed  of  men  considerably  above  the  average  and  it 
looks  as  if  we  will  have  a  very  pleasant  and  successful  trip. 
Of  this  prediction,  time  will  tell. 

Committees  have  been  appointed  and  the  following  subjects 
have  been  assigned,  one  to  each  member  of  the  Commission, 
on  which  he  is  expected  to  fully  inform  himself  so  that  he 
may  intelligently  place  each  subject  before  the  Chinese: 

1.  Chinese  immigration. 

2.  Banks  and  loan  associations. 

3.  Monetary  exchanges. 

4.  Revenue  and  taxation. 

5.  Opening  of  Panama  Canal ;  its  effects  on  commerce. 

6.  Establishment  of  permanent  exhibits. 

7.  Merchant  marine,  United  States  and  China. 

8.  Coke,  coal,  lumber. 

9.  Fruits. 

10.  American  and  Chinese  raw  cotton  and  silk. 

11.  Railroads. 

12.  Canals,  rivers  and  harborc. 

13.  Electricity. 

14.  Foreign  loans. 

15.  Opium. 

16.  Constitutional  government. 

17.  Extra  territoriality. 

18.  Education. 

19.  Social  position  of  women. 


10  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

20.  The  evolution  of  China. 

21.  Sages  of  China. 

22.  Consular  service. 

2'iy.  Possibilities  of  United  States  of  America  increasing 
commerce  and  the  cause  of  the  decline  of  our  trade 
and  the  remedy. 

Honolulu — Got  ashore  at  9  a.  m. ;  autos  took  us  to  view 
Pearl  Harbor,  then  through  the  city  and  to  the  Pali.  Visited 
the  Museums,  Aquarium,  Waikiki  beach  and  back  to  Young's 
Hotel  for  lunch.  Governor  Frear,  ex-Governor  Dole,  Mr. 
John  Waterhouse,  Mr.  Wood,  secretary  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  and  several  others  received  and  entertained  us  in 
such  a  splendid  way  that  it  was  the  most  enjoyable  day  many 
of  us  ever  had.  Honolulu  is  noted  for  its  hospitality,  but  on 
this  occasion  they  outdid  themselves,  and  we  certainly  carried 
away  pleasant  memories.  We  sailed  at  5  p.  m.  and  the  follow- 
ing morning  got  down  to  work  again,  having  committee  meet- 
ings forenoon  and  a  general  meeting  of  the  Commissioners 
and  ladies  in  the  afternoon. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  31. — This  forenoon  I  addressed  a  meet- 
ing of  the  ladies  on  the  importance  of  the  mission  in  which  we 
were  engaged,  and  tried  to  impress  on  them  that  at  times 
seriousness  and  great  tact  would  be  necessary.     I  said : 

To  the  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Commission — 

I  have  been  requested  by  the  executive  committee  to 
address  you  on  the  part  you  can  and  should  take  on  this  trip. 
No  doubt  many  of  you  came  expecting  it  to  be  a  pleasure 
excursion  and  nothing  more.  While  I  promise  you  that  this 
will  be  the  most  pleasant  trip  you  ever  had  and  that  the 
memory  of  it  will  last  as  long  as  you  live,  still  there  is  a 
seriousness  connected  with  it  that  makes  the  strongest  of  us 
pause  and  think.  We  are  going  to  a  people  numbering  nearly 
one-third  of  the  population  of  the  world.  The  Empire  of 
China  is  as  large  as  the  United  States,  Alaska,  all  our  island 
possessions,  France,  Spain  and  Italy  and  still  room  left.  Our 
self-imposed  task  is  to  create  a  better  feeling  of  friendship 
between  the  two  nations  and  incidentally  to  promote  and  in- 
crease our  trade  relations.     I  hope  that  what  I  have  said  of 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  II 

itself  is  sufficient  to  convince  you  that  none  of  you  have  ever 
been  fortunate  enough  to  be  permitted  to  engage  in  a  work 
that  interests  over  one-third  of  the  population  of  our  globe. 
So  that  the  magnitude  of  the  work  before  us  may  not  dis- 
courage you  I  would  say  that  a  woman,  ]Mrs.  Little,  in 
Shanghai,  formed  a  small  club  called  the  x\nti  Foot-Binding 
Society.  It  spread  to  other  cities  and  finally  reached  the  late 
Empress  Dowager,  and  she  was  so  impressed  with  their  earn- 
estness that  she  issued  an  edict  forbidding  in  the  future  the 
binding  of  any  girls'  feet.  Now,  when  a  custom  that  had 
existed  for  ages  past  can  be  changed  to  be  sucli  a  boon  to  the 
higher  class  ladies  of  China,  and  all  started  by  one  woman, 
you  can  well  take  courage,  and  in  your  efforts  to  get  in  close 
touch  with  the  ladies  you  will,  I  am  sure,  succeed  in  doing 
much.  The  International  Institute  in  Shanghai  has  been  the 
means  of  bringing  the  foreigners  and  Chinese  together  and  the 
ladies  have  a  club  in  which  they  have  induced  several  Chinese 
ladies  to  join. 

At  the  unveiling  of  a  tablet  in  the  institute  I  saw  several 
Chinese  ladies  present  which  is  a  great  innovation  from  the 
old  established  custom  of  seclusion.  I  have  tried  to  get  some 
parts  of  the  subject  of  education  assigned  to  you  to  investigate 
and  report  on,  especially  the  education  of  girls,  kindergarten, 
music,  etc.  The  subject  of  Chinese  woman  and  her  position 
socially  and  legally,  has  been  assigi;ed  to  you,  and  I  trust  you 
w'ill  make  a  full  investigation  and  report.  You  all  appreciate 
the  fact  that  on  the  education  of  the  masses  depends  to  a  great 
extent  the  prosperity  of  a  nation ;  in  this  China  is  sadly  de- 
ficient, but  now  fully  alive  to  the  necessity  of  universal 
education.  So  bear  in  mind  that  anything  you  can  do  for 
the  uplift  of  China,  your  reward  will  be  what  the  great  men 
and  wom^en  are  all  striving  to  accomplish,  namely,  to  "Leave 
the  world  better  than  you  found  it." 

I  have  to  report  the  passing  of  a  very  short  week ;  in  fact, 
I  find  time  rushing  on  so  that  I  can't  get  as  much  done  as 
I  want  to  this  week;  one  day  was  given  over  to  very  enjoyable 
sports,  in  which  both  old  and  young  passed  many  pleasant 
hours;  then  on  Friday  we  crossed  the  iSoth  Meridian,  there- 
fore that  day  was  dropped  from  our  calendar.  Went  to  bed 
on  Thursday  night  and  woke  up  Saturday  morning.     I  called 


12  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

a  meeting  of  the  ladies  of  the  party  and  suggested  that  they 
organize  so  as  to  be  in  a  better  position  to  take  up  any  subject 
brought  to  them,  and  also  to  be  better  prepared  to  give  us 
prompt  and  material  assistance.  They  took  kindly  to  the 
suggestion  and  elected  ^Nlrs.  Dollar  president,  ^Irs.  Booth 
vice-president  and  Mrs.  Moulton  secretary.  They  assigned 
various  subjects  to  several  committees  which  they  appointed, 
showing  that  they  fully  realized  the  importance  of  the  part 
they  will  take.  In  this  connection  we  will  hear  from  them 
during  the  trip  and  in  the  final  report. 

During  this  week  I  see  that  the  Commissioners  fully  realize 
the  magnitude  of  the  work  we  are  undertaking.  They  know 
now  what  they  did  not  realize  before  they  left  home,  "That 
they  have  a  man's  job  on  their  hands.''  Every  one,  without 
any  exception,  is  reading  and  studying  the  various  subjects 
that  will  come  before  us.  For  myself,  I  have  devoted  two- 
thirds  of  my  time  answering  questions  and  telling  others 
what  I  know.  Xow  I  feel  fully  repaid  for  the  time  and  work 
I  have  put  in  during  the  past  few  years  in  studying  China  and 
the  Chinese,  and  while  all  I  don't  know  about  the  subject  is  a 
hundred  times  more  than  what  I  know,  it  is  a  great  satisfaction, 
in  a  small  way,  to  assist  others. 

Before  leaving  home  I  filled  a  trunk  with  books  on  China 
(out  of  my  book  case)  that  I  thought  would  be  of  service  to 
the  Commissioners.  I  went  to  get  a  book  and  found  almost 
the  entire  lot  were  out.  I  brought  a  lot  of  National  Reviews 
published  in  Shanghai.  Those  give  us  "China  up  to  date," 
and  the  Commissioners  found  many  instructive  and  interest- 
ing articles  in  them.  Anyone  wishing  to  keep  in  close  touch 
with  Chinese  affairs,  if  they  read  these  articles,  will  be  very 
close  to  the  band  wagon.  In  regards  to  the  personnel  of  the 
party,  I  am  pleased  beyond  measure  at  the  number  of  able 
men  we  have ;  they  differ  from  any  party  I  have  been  with,  as 
there  is  practically  no  choice  except  wherein  one  is  better 
posted  on  certain  subjects  than  others.  President  Booth  has 
certainly  good  material  to  work  with,  and  I  have  e\-ery  pros- 
pect of  extra  good  results,  although  I  am  not  unmindful  of 
the  old  saying,  "A  wise  man  defers  boasting  until  he  is  taking 
his  armor  off."  I  consider  this  ship  is  well  kept  up  in  every 
particular  and  pleases  my  rather  critical  eye,  as  the  officers 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  1 3 

of  our  ships  say,  not  much  escapes  me.     The  discipHne  of  the 
officers  and  crew  cannot  be  excelled. 

Yokohama — We  arrived  in  this  city  in  a  rain  storm.  The 
Japanese,  wishing  to  show  those  who  had  entertained  them 
in  America  some  kindness,  invited  those  from  amongst  our 
party  and  their  ladies  to  visit  Tokyo,  and  provided  us  a  special 
car  on  the  railroad.  Automobiles  were  aw'aiting  us  at  the 
station  in  Tokyo,  and  after  having  luncheon  at  the  Imperial 
Hotel  they  drove  us  around  the  city,  then  out  to  Baron 
Shibisawa's  house,  where  we  had  a  reception  and  were  hos- 
pitably entertained  by  his  son  and  daughter,  as  the  Baron 
was  in  Osaka  raising  funds  for  the  flood  sufferers,  and  the 
Baroness  was  sick  and  unable  to  be  out  of  bed.  We  were  then 
driven  to  the  Nippon  Club,  where  we  had  an  excellent  Japanese 
dinner.  Other  than  the  usual  toasts  there  were  no  more 
speeches  than  expressing  pleasure  at  being  together.  Mr. 
Clark  presented  a  Portland  banner  to  Mr.  Nakano,  President 
of  the  Tokyo  Chamber  of  Commerce.  After  dinner  they  had 
a  theatrical  company  ready  and  we  wound  up  the  festivities 
with  a  good  Japanese  play.  We  left  Tokyo  at  1 1  p.  m.  and 
got  on  board  the  steamer  after  m.idnight.  Our  ladies  were 
accompanied  by  a  like  number  of  Japanese  ladies.  On  the 
whole  it  was  a  pleasant  break  in  our  journey. 

On  our  trip  on  the  railroad  we  saw  evidences  of  the  recent 
disastrous  floods :  high  water  marks  on  the  houses  and  trees, 
crops  destroyed  and  landslides.  It  is  reported  that  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  destitution  and  suffering  among  the  communities 
affected  and  strong  efforts  are  being  put  forth  to  get  money  to 
aid  them.     Nine  of  our  Commissioners  gave  five  hundred  yen. 

At  Kobe — All  the  passengers  went  ashore  to  see  the  sights; 
many  visited  Osaka  and  took  in  all  the  points  of  interest  around 
Kobe.  Considerable  headway  has  been  made  on  the  new 
breakwater,  and  it  won't  be  long  until  this  much-needed 
improvement  will  make  loading  and  discharging  into  barges 
possible  when  it  is  blowing  hard.  At  present  it  does  not  take 
much  wind  to  stop  all  work  in  the  harbor.  I  noticed  three 
dredges  at  work  deepening  the  water  close  to  shore  to  enable 
vessels  to  lay  closer  in  than  at  present.  The  present  plan  of 
harbor  improvement  is  to  build  several  piers  from  shore  so  a 


14  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

great  deal  of  freight  will  be  handled  direct  to  rail  or  wagons 
without  the  use  of  lighters.  Going  through  the  Inland  sea 
the  weather  was  good  and  passengers  had  a  good  view  of  the 
beautiful  scenery. 

Nagasaki — We  arrived  in  Nagasaki  in  the  early  morning 
and  the  American  Consul  sent  an  invitation  for  our  party  to 
attend  a  reception  at  the  Consulate  at  ii  a.  m.  He  gave  us 
a  very  nice  entertainment,  and  the  thanks  of  the  Commissioners 
and  ladies  were  very  justly  tendered  to  him  for  the  very 
pleasant  break  in  our  journey.  This  town  is  gradually  on 
the  down  grade  as,  were  it  not  for  the  coaling  of  mail  steamers 
and  the  Mitsu  Bishi  dock  3'ard,  there  would  be  absolutely 
nothing  doing,  and  as  there  is  not  a  very  good  agricultural 
country  back  of  it,  the  prospects  are  certainly  not  encouraging. 
Our  steamer  took  on  2500  tons  of  coal  from  8  a.  m.  until  5  130 
p.  m.  and  all  trimmed  in  the  bunkers.  This  can't  be  done  in 
any  port  outside  of  Japan  or  China.  In  passing  Moji  I  saw 
a  large  number  of  steamers  laying  there  loading  coal  and 
bunkering;  at  that  time  it  looked  as  if  they  were  rushed  with 
business.  The  ocean  continues  smooth,  although  the  weather 
is  sultry  and  hot ;  we  are  having  a  very  pleasant  trip. 

Shanghai — Arrived  in  this  city  September  15th,  one  day 
ahead  of  time.  At  Woosung  a  special  steamer  met  us  having 
a  deputation  on  board  representing  the  government,  Chamber 
of  Commerce  and  the  Chinese  civic  authorities.  There  was  a 
great  display  of  bunting.  The  deputation  came  on  board  and 
were  introduced  to  the  party.  With  the  exception  of  two  I 
had  met  them  all  before.  They  presented  us  with  badges 
and  visiting  cards  to  be  used  on  our  trip.  The  landing  at 
Shanghai  was  decorated  with  flags  as  well  as  the  street  car 
electric  poles.  W^e  were  unfortunate  in  the  weather  as  it 
rained  steadily  all  day,  and  the  only  variation  was  that  some- 
times it  poured. 

We  had  lunch  at  the  hotels,  the  party  being  divided  between 
the  Astor  House  and  the  Palace  Hotel,  the  latter  being  head- 
quarters, and  the  one  at  which  I  stayed,  as  it  was  near  our 
office.  At  3  p.  m.  we  attended  a  reception  given  by  the 
Chinese  merchants  of  the  city,  at  Chaos  gardens,  III  Range 
road,  the  private  residence  of  the  owner.  It  was  a  fine  affair, 
at  which  there  was  a  big  crowd  of  Chinese  and  few  foreigners 


?3 
§  3 


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53 
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O     CO 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  1 5 

but  ourselves.  Very  rightly  the  Chinese  look  on  us  as  their 
guests  and  they  don't  look  for  or  want  any  outside  assistance. 
It  is  said  by  old  residents  there  never  had  been  such  elaborate 
preparations  made  to  receive  any  one,  even  when  the  Emperor 
visited  this  city  some  years  ago.  This,  our  first  public  enter- 
tainment, went  off  to  perfection ;  everything  went  smooth  and 
satisfactorily  and  several  of  the  Chinese  spoke  to  me  in 
appreciative  terms  of  the  personnel  of  our  party.  This  was  said 
as  a  compliment  to  me. 

This  morning  at  nine  the  Commissioners  held  a  meeting 
and  balance  of  forenoon  I  spent  in  the  office.  At  3  p.  m.  we 
went  to  the  Foo  Fong  Flour  Mill  and  were  shown  through 
the  largest  flour  mill  in  China,  which  has  a  capacity  of  1500 
barrels  of  flour  a  day.  We  formerly  supplied  this  company 
with  wheat  from  Tacoma,  but  the  rise  in  price  in  Ameirca, 
coupled  with  the  low  rate  of  exchange,  has  completely  shut  us 
out,  and  we  have  sold  them  nothing  in  three  years.  They  get 
their  supply  from  the  small  farmers  within  a  radius  of  250 
miles  and  get  all  they  require,  but  it  is  much  inferior  to  ours 
in  quality  and  is  brought  in  very  dirty.  Nevertheless,  they 
make  a  very  fair  quality  of  flour,  especially  for  the  Chinese 
customers. 

They  took  us  on  a  Chinese  house  boat  up  Soo  Chow  Creek 
to  the  mill;  had  the  place  beautifully  decorated  w-ith  flags  and 
evergreens,  matting  spread  on  the  walks  and  later  served 
refreshments  in  a  hall,  where  Mr.  Song  delivered  a  splendid 
address  in  English.  During  the  delivery  he  was  constantly 
interrupted  by  applause.  This  address  Avas  a  pleasant  surprise 
to  many  of  our  members  who  have  not  fully  awakened  to  the 
fact  that  the  Chinese  gentleman  here  is  somewhat  different 
from  the  John  Chinaman  who  does  laundry  work  in  America. 
We  had  an  appointment  at  the  Chinese  Young  Men's  Associa- 
ton  to  a  reception,  and  did  not  get  there  until  6  p.  m. 

On  arrival  we  found  the  large  building  full  of  people,  who 
had  been  waiting  an  hour.  Probably  eighty  per  cent  of  them 
w^ere  Chinese.  President  T.  T.  Wong  and  Mr.  S.  K.  Tsao, 
secretary,  both  spoke  in  excellent  English ;  in  fact,  without 
accent.  The  party  were  shown  through  the  building  and  in  the 
gymnasium  saw  the  young  men  at  practice.  This  association 
started  ten  years  ago  and  was  the  only  one  in  China ;  now  this 


1 6  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

one  runs  a  day  and  night  shift  with  230  men  attending  each. 
A  new  building,  larger  than  the  present,  will  soon  be  added 
to  this  one,  as  the  land  is  all  secured  for  it.  This  will  more 
than  double  its  capacity.  This  institution  is  doing  a  great 
work  and  others  are  being  built  in  various  cities  of  China.  It 
looks  as  if  it  won't  be  long  till  the  Chinese  Y.  M.  C.  A.  will 
be  found  in  every  large  city.  The  $40,000  required  each  year 
to  carry  on  the  work  all  comes  from  Chinese  merchants  and 
students. 

At  9  p.  m.  a  reception  was  given  us  by  the  American  resi- 
dents at  the  large  reception  room  in  the  Palace  Hotel.  The 
room  was  filled  and  the  dining-room  was  cleared  for  dancing. 
The  day  was  one  of  pleasant  events  which  w-e  enjoyed  very 
much.  The  personnel  of  our  Commissioners  received  very 
favorable  comment  both  by  Chinese  and  foreigners. 

This  morning  at  9  a.  m.  we  started  in  automobiles  up  the 
river  bank;  first  we  visited  Nicholas  Tsu's  iron  foundry  and 
machine  shops  and  his  adjoining  cotton  mill,  which  latter  had 
run  out  of  raw  cotton  and  was  not  in  operation.  The  cotton 
seed  oil  mill  was  in  operation  pressing  out  oil  and  making 
cotton  seed  cake  for  cattle  food.  The  extent  of  his  operations 
shows  how  progressive  a  man  he  is;  when  his  works  are  all 
running  full  he  employs  several  thousand  men.  We  next 
visited  the  Chinese  waterworks,  pumping  water  out  of  the 
muddy  river  and  purifying  it  for  the  use  of  the  native  city 
and  vicinity ;  the  grounds  are  nicely  laid  out  with  trees,  shrubs 
and  flowering  plants.  We  then  visited  the  Arsenal,  where 
they  make  anything  from  the  most  modern  lo-inch  gun  to  the 
smallest  arms.  There  is  not  much  doing  at  present  about  the 
dock  and  naval  port,  said  to  be  on  account  of  scarcity  of  funds. 

We  then  visited  the  large  paper  mill  of  Lung  Chang. 
They  were  using  rags  and  pulp,  the  latter  being  imported  from 
Norway  and  Australia.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  if  our 
pulp  manufacturers,  and  especially  those  from  British  Colum- 
bia, were  to  try,  they  could  furnish  all  the  pulp  required  in 
China,  as  the  rate  of  freight  from  Norway  must  be  double 
that  from  America,  and  that  from  Australia  would  be  fifty 
per  cent  more,  and  it  is  a  certainty  that  pulp  can  be  produced 
as  cheap  in  America  as  in  either  Australia  or  Norway.  This 
mill  appears  to  be  up  to  date  in  every  particular. 


■^-  s 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  1 7 

We  next  visited  a  large  woolen  mill,  three  years  old,  fitted 
with  modern  machinery  from  Belgium.  The  most  of  the  wool 
was  Chinese  grown,  but  they  had  a  quantity  of  Australian  and 
some  South  African  which  was  used  for  mixing.  They  were 
running  on  coarse  blankets,  coarse  cloth  and  a  very  fine  kind 
of  gray  cloth  of  excellent  quality,  all  intended  for  the 
domestic  trade.  In  this  mill  and  the  paper  mill  there  was 
about  600  hands  employed.  It  was  2  o'clock  before  we  returned 
home  for  lunch  and  we  had  a  reception  engagement  at  the 
Shanghai  Taotai's  at  4  o'clock.  Here  we  were  met  by  all 
the  great  people  of  the  city.  The  reception  hall  was  beautifully 
decorated  with  a  profusion  of  American  and  Chinese  flags. 
This  hall  is  in  the  front  of  the  house,  easily  holding  100 
people,  and  has  a  dome  roof  about  thirty  feet  high  covered 
with  stained  glass;  there  were  quantities  of  evergreens, 
flowers,  palms,  etc.;  cake  and  wine  was  served  (no  speeches). 
It  was  quite  informal  and  Americans  as  well  as  Chinese 
seemed  to  enjoy  it.  Quite  a  number  of  Chinese  gentlemen 
wore  peacock  feathers  in  their  caps  denoting  their  high 
rank.  We  got  back  to  the  hotel  in  time  to  dress  for 
the  grand  banquet  at  the  hall  in  the  Chang  Suho  gardens. 
We  went  to  it  on  a  street  car  specially  decorated  with  flags 
and  brilliantly  lighted ;  on  front  and  rear  were  electric  designs 
of  American  flags.  The  street  car  company  decorated  their 
line  for  a  distance  of  over  three  miles.  On  arrival  at  the 
grounds  we  found  it  brilliantly  lighted,  some  thousands  of 
Chinese  lanterns  having  been  specially  made  with  American 
and  Chinese  flags  on  each,  and  a  large  electric  design  with  the 
words  "Welcome"  over  the  door.  The  hall  seated  over  200 
persons  and  at  the  end  was  a  stage  where  a  theatrical  troupe 
entertained  us  during  the  meal.  The  trimmings  and  fitting 
up  of  the  stage  was  the  most  gorgeous  that  anv  of  us  had 
ever  seen.  Any  attempt  I  might  make  to  describe  it  or  the 
costumes  of  the  actors  would  fall  so  far  short  of  conveying  an 
adequate  idea  of  what  it  was,  that  I  would  only  give  a  wrong 
impression.  So  just  think  of  something  extravagantly  grand 
and  you  may  come  near  it.  The  meal  was  semi-Chinese, 
commencing  with  bird's  nest  soup,  then  shark's  fins,  etc.,  etc., 
all  well  served. 


1 8  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

Our  Consul-General,  Mr.  Wilder,  had  the  seat  of  honor, 
Ambassador  Wu  Ting  Fang  sat  across  the  table  from  him, 
which  in  Chinese  etiquette  is  next.  He  is  the  most  distin- 
guished Chinese  diplomat  known  to  foreigners  and  is  cer- 
tainly a  very  talented  man.  He  has  been  called  to  Peking 
again.  He,  along  with  Yuen  Shi  Kai  and  Tong  Shoe  Yi 
were  all  retired  because  they  were  too  strong  for  the  weak 
head  over  them.  Nevertheless,  they  will  all  take  their  places 
where  they  belong,  which  is  right  up  at  the  head  of  the 
procession. 

The  speakers  of  the  evening  were  Consul-General  Wilder 
on  the  American  side  and  Wu  Ting  Fang  on  the  Chinese, 
although  there  were  others ;  but  those  two  gentlemen  each  did 
justice  to  his  subject.  They  as  well  as  others  who  spoke 
used  exceedingly  good  judgment  in  talking  to  the  very  mixed 
audience  they  were  addressing. 

There  was  a  great  displa)^  of  fireworks,  and  take  it  all  in 
all,  it  was  the  greatest  display  of  Oriental  splendor  I  had  ever 
seen.  Chinese  merchants  tell  me  no  such  preparations  had 
ever  been  made  to  give  a  grand  reception  since  the  late 
Emperor  visited  Shanghai  many  years  ago. 

Sunday  was  to  have  been  a  day  of  rest,  but  they  worked  in 
a  reception  at  the  International  Institute.  At  3  p.  m.  I  was 
sick  in  bed  having  overdone,  so  did  not  attend,  but  it  came 
off  all  right.  Taotai  Y.  C.  Tong  and  Wu  Ting  Fang  de- 
livered addresses;  some  of  our  party  replied.  Slight  showers 
interrupted  the  proceedings  somewhat.  At  8  p.  m.  the  Press 
Association  gave  our  Commissioners  a  banquet,  at  which  100 
attended.  Mr.  Tong,  who  presided,  and  Wu  Ting  Fang  and 
Mr.  Booth,  president  of  our  association,  were  reported  as 
having  delivered  good  addresses. 

The  party  visited  a  cotton  mill  having  six  thousand 
employees,  and  a  silk  filiture  and  an  exhibit  of  finished  silks 
which  was  said  to  be  very  fine.  This  took  up  the  entire 
forenoon  and  after  lunch  at  the  hotel  the  party  started  for 
Hanchow  in  house  boats.  Unfortunately  I  was  not  well 
enough  to  go.  A  boat  was  provided  for  each  four  people 
with  a  boy  servant.  The  Palace  Hotel  provided  the  help  and 
catered.  They  left  at  i  p.  m.  and  would  arrive  at  the  Hanchow 
landing  at  10  a.  m.  next  day,  and  would  take  the  train,  five 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  1 9 

miles  to  the  city,  where  they  would  be  entertained  at  luncheon. 
An  account  of  this  trip  I  will  get  from  one  of  the  party,  and 
as  I  have  been  over  the  ground  before  I  can  easily  understand 
the  description.  While  the  weather  has  been  threatening,  it 
has  not  rained.  \\'hen  at  the  dry  dock  I  noticed  it  was  a  very 
high  tide,  so  I  expect  the  famous  bore  will  be  worth  seeing. 
To-day  I  got  an  invitation  from  the  Provincial  Assembly  of 
Ouantung  provinces  inviting  our  Commissioners  to  visit 
them,  seeing  that  many  of  them  come  from  the  country  dis- 
tricts, where  anti-foreign  feeling  exists,  this  invitation  is 
significant,  and  to  give  it  an  official  tone  and  governmental 
authority,  it  was  sent  through  the  Shanghai  Taotai  . 

Haiicliozc — This  trip  was  taken  in  house  boats  furnished 
by  the  Shanghai  Chamber  of  Commerce,  with  three  tugs, 
towing  twenty-one  in  all.  Servants  and  food  were  also 
furnished.  It  was  a  novelty  to  all  of  our  members  and  all 
enjoyed  seeing  the  world-famous  grand  canal  and  all  got  to 
appreciate  the  age  of  China  when  they  realized  that  for  2500 
years  billions  of  people  have  been  traveling  up  and  down  this 
waterway.  The  bridges  built  at  that  time  are  perfection.  I 
have  never  seen  one  settled,  or  a  stone  displaced  in  the  arch. 

On  the  tow  path  on  either  side  of  the  canal  all  were 
interested  in  the  side  bridges  of  a  single  stone  across  the  creeks 
running  into  the  canal,  many  of  them  forty  to  fifty  feet  long, 
two  feet  thick,  and  four  to  six  feet  wide.  At  Kashing  the  party 
visited  this  old  city  and  took  the  train  to  Hanchow,  fifty  miles 
distant.  The  canal  at  this  point  is  built  up  solid  on  each  side,  a 
distance  of  half  a  mile,  the  walls  of  the  houses  rising  out  of  the 
water,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  street.  At  Hanchow  we 
were  immediately  taken  to  an  official  reception  and  luncheon, 
and  in  the  afternoon  saw  the  sights  of  a  Chinese  city  which 
only  a  few  of  our  party  had  ever  witnessed  before.  A  grand 
banquet  was  given  by  the  Governor  of  Chekiang  Province  at 
his  official  yamen  during  the  evening. 

It  was  a  grand,  magnificent  affair  in  all  the  Oriental 
splendor  and  most  significant,  as  foreigners  have  been 
personae  non  grata,  and  this  is  the  first  time  they  ever  had 
been  officially  received  in  this  province.  So  the  world  moves 
and  our  party  is  certainly  breaking  the  ice  in   New  China. 


20  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

Speeches  were  made  and  the  Governor  asked  us  to  suggest 
ways  and  means  that  they  could  become  a  manufacturing  as 
well  as  an  agricultural  community. 

Next  day  was  more  than  filled  up.  Commenced  before 
9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  finished  at  1 1  :30  in  the  evening, 
visited  temples,  had  lunch  at  a  mandarin's  yamen,  had  boat 
excursion  on  West  Lake,  the  most  picturesque  water  in  China, 
and  wound  up  at  3  p.  m.  at  the  temple  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
to  see  the  "bore,"  famous  all  over  the  world.  One  occurs  in 
the  spring  and  one  in  the  fall,  this  being  the  small  one,  how- 
ever. It  was  a  great  sight  to  see  the  great  wall  of  water 
rolling  up  the  river  from  the  ocean  carrying  everything  before 
it.  Then  we  hurried  back  to  Hanchow  to  get  the  special  train 
that  was  to  take  us  back  to  Shanghai.  The  cars  were  all 
decorated,  and  the  railway  company  provided  dinner  for  us; 
in  fact,  it  was  impossible  to  have  devised  ways  of  doing  more. 
Every  section  man  on  the  road  was  provided  with  a  Chinese 
lantern  with  American  and  Chinese  flags  on  them ;  every 
station,  whether  we  were  to  stop  at  it  or  not,  was  decorated 
with  bunting  and  evergreens.  Crowds  of  people  were  at  every 
station,  so  that  standing  room  was  at  a  premium.  And  at  the 
principal  cities  on  the  way  ofiicial  receptions  were  held, 
presents  given  each  of  us  at  every  function,  so  that  the  trip 
from  Hanchow  to  Shanghai  (200  miles)  was  one  triumphant 
grand  march,  and  the  most  remarkable  and  unaccountable 
part  of  it  was  that  this  railroad  and  country  has  always  been 
considered  anti-foreign.  We  arrived  at  the  hotel  after  mid- 
night, completely  tired  out.  At  Shanghai  various  industrial 
plants  were  visited  by  the  men,  and  the  ladies  went  on  their 
own  account  and  visited  the  various  missions,  hospitals,  etc., 
and  they  found  a  flourishing  Young  Women's  Christian  As- 
sociation of  160  members.  Think  of  it,  the  upper  class  of 
Chinese  ladies  who  were  completely  out  of  speaking  distance 
with  our  ladies,  to  have  started  and  are  maintaining  a  real, 
live  Y.  W.  C.  A.  This  brings  the  thought,  that  it  is  only  a 
few  months  since  Mrs.  Dollar  and  I  were  here  before  and 
we  see  changes  on  every  hand.    The  giant  is  awakening. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  21 


OX   THE  WAY  TO   NANKING 


I  use  the  word  giant  advisedly,  as  I  am  writing  of  one- 
third  of  the  human  race.  So  that  I  look  forward  to  great 
benefit  from  the  investigations  of  our  women.  The  last 
evening  we  were  in  Shanghai  they  gave  us  a  Chinese  theater 
party.  The  play  was  on  the  effects  of  opium.  This  subject 
was  chosen,  as  the  Americans  were  the  first  to  assist  the 
Chinese  in  its  suppression. 

We  left  Shanghai  early  in  the  morning  and  took  train  to 
Nanking.  The  station  was  most  elaborately  decorated. 
Thousands  of  firecrackers  were  set  off  to  wish  us  good  luck. 
A  band  played  our  national  airs  and  the  leading  men  of  the 
city  were  on  the  platform  to  bid  us  goodby  and  godspeed. 
The  train  was  a  special  one  of  private  cars.  On  the  window  of 
each  was  a  card  with  the  name  of  the  American  city  the 
representatives  of  which  would  occupy  it.  Each  had  a  buffet 
and  served  us  with  meals  or  refreshments  along  the  way.  It 
was  unique.  I  have  never  seen  anything  quite  so  elaborate 
before.  My  old  friend,  Mr.  Chung,  the  managing  director  of 
the  road,  accompanied  us.  He  was  educated  in  America.  As 
we  proceeded  I  noticed  every  way  station  that  we  did  not 
stop  at  was  decorated  with  bunting  and  all  the  railway  section 
hands  were  drawn  up  in  line  on  the  station  platforms.  We 
did  not  stop  until  we  reached  Soochow,  fifty  miles  distant. 

At  Soochow  a  great  crowd  of  people  met  us,  nearly  the 
entire  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  many  officials,  mandarins, 
etc.  The  station  was  elaborately  decorated  in  evergreens  and 
bunting.  Brass  bands  and  carriages  were  in  waiting  and 
conveyed  us  to  the  Governor's  yamen,  a  great,  big  rambling 
building.  It  took  us  ten  minutes  to  walk  through  the  intricate 
passages  and  rooms  until  we  got  to  the  audience  hall,  where 
tables,  set  for  one  hundred  and  fifty,  were  beautifully  decorated 
with  cut  flowers.  The  hall  was  adorned  with  many  works  of 
art,  artificial  flowers,  evergreens  and  flags.  After  the  elaborate 
lunch  was  disposed  of  the  Governor  delivered  an  address  of 
welcome,  and  I  was  requested  to  reply.     I  said : 

"Those  who  know  your  customs,  know  that  your  hospital- 
ity is  unbounded,  but  in  the  manner  you  have  received  us  at  the 
different  places  in  China  I  must  say  that  you  have  superceded 


22  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

yourselves.  The  primary  object  we  had  in  coming  7000  miles 
to  visit  your  country  was  to  increase  the  friendly  relations 
that  exist  between  our  country  and  yours.  From  the  en- 
thusiastic manner  your  people  have  received  us,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  this  result 
will  be  accomplished  in  a  manner  exceeding  our  fondest  hopes. 
But  we  have  another  object  in  visiting  you  and  by  some  of 
you  it  may  be  considered  of  primary  instead  of  secondary 
importance.  I  mean  trade  and  commerce,  and  in  offering 
any  suggestions  to  you  on  this  subject  I  can't  help  feeling  like 
a  small  boy  coming  to  his  great-grandfather  and  giving  him 
advice,  as  I  am  a  citizen  of  the  youngest  of  the  nations  and 
I  am  addressing  citizens  of  the  oldest  nation  on  earth,  and 
I  also  fully  realize  the  fact  that  your  nation  represents  one- 
third  of  the  human  race.  You  have  a  very  rich  agricultural 
country,  perfectly  level  land  and  as  productive  as  the  best  of 
any  country,  but  you  lack  manufactures.  No  nation  has  ever 
become  truly  great  measured  by  cur  modern  standards,  that 
has  not  engaged  extensively  in  manufacturing.  Ships  and  a 
merchant  marine  is  also  a  necessary  part  in  the  commercial 
development  of  any  great  country,  all  of  which  you  are  lacking 
in,  and  at  a  meeting  of  this  kind  with  limited  time  it  is 
impossible  to  accomplish  much.  But  I  would  suggest  to  your 
merchants  and  bankers  to  meet  us  at  some  future  time,  when 
we  could  discuss  fully  how  best  we  can  increase  your  trade. 
We  are  not  here  for  pleasure;  we  are  here  to  develop  and 
increase  trade.  What  we  want  and  must  have  is  practical 
results.  If  we  do  not  accomplish  this  our  visit  here  will  be 
a  failure.  So  we  want  to  get  in  close  touch  with  your  mer- 
chants, so  that  the  much-desired  result  may  be  accomplished. 
Human  nature  is  much  the  same  in  every  nation  and  many 
men  and  women  in  your  country  and  there  are  some  in  this 
Commission  whose  sole  desire  is  when  they  die  they  may  be 
able  to  say  they  left  the  world  better  than  they  found  it." 

We  got  back  to  the  train  and  left  at  2  p.  m.  Our  next 
stop  for  half  an  hour  was  at  Wuseh,  the  great  silk  center.  At 
this  place  the  crowd  was  greater  than  ever;  it  extended  into 
the  fields.  We  made  a  presentation  and  gave  and  received 
presents,  each  made  an  address  before  we  departed  on  our  Avay 
rejoicing. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  23 

We  next  stopped  at  Changsha,  where  the  Cliamber  of 
Commerce  presented  us  with  an  address  of  welcome  and  we 
presented  them  with  one  of  onr  addresses.  There  was  the 
usual  crowd.  This  station  was  even  better  decorated  than  any 
of  the  previous  ones,  due  to  an  artistic  effect,  and  it  must 
have  cost  considerable  money.  They  presented  each  of  us 
with  packages  of  tea  of  their  own  growing,  as  this  is  con- 
siderable of  a  tea-producing  district  and  they  are  particularly 
proud  of  the  fine  quality  they  produce.  It  was  nearly  dark 
when  we  got  to  Chinkiang.  There  was  no  reception  here,  as 
we  are  to  visit  it  formally  next  week  and  will  embark  on  the 
steamer  here  to  go  up  the  river.  It  was  quite  dark  when  we 
got  to  Shiaquan.  where  our  train  was  switched  onto  the 
Suburban  Nanking  Railroad;  so  we  were  taken  to  the  ex- 
position grounds  six  miles,  without  changing  cars.  We  were 
quartered  at  the  new  Hotel  Astor,  which  is  in  sight  of  the 
exhibition  grounds.  The  exhibition  buildings,  grounds,  etc., 
are  a  great  credit  to  the  Chinese,  being  their  first  attempt  at 
expositions.  I  did  not  go  through  it  sufficiently  in  detail  to 
write  much  on  it.  I  was  pleased  to  see  the  Americans  made 
quite  a  creditable  showing.  The  Robert  Dollar  Co.  exhibit 
was  very  fair,  but  our  lumber  goods  don't  make  a  good  display. 
Our  steamer  model  helped  it  out. 

Nanking.  September  24. — In  the  early  evening  the 
ladies  of  the  party  were  invited  to  a  tea  and  reception  at  Lady 
Chang's,  wife  of  the  Viceroy.  This  is  the  first  time  such  a 
function  was  ever  given  to  foreigners,  and  the  hostess  was 
rather  nervous,  as  outside  of  seeing  white  women  at  a  re- 
spectable distance  she  had  never  come  in  close  contact  with 
them.  They  spent  an  hour  with  her  and  carried  on  con- 
versation through  three  student  girls  from  the  mission  schools. 
All  went  off  very  satisfactorily  and  at  7  p.  m.  they  (our  ladies) 
joined  us  at  the  Viceroy's  great  banquet  hall,  where  118  sat 
down  to  dinner.  The  decorations  of  the  hall  and  especially 
the  tables  were  all  that  could  be  desired;  in  fact,  one  could 
only  see  but  a  short  distance  from  him.  I  was  fortunately 
located,  as  the  Viceroy's  secretary,  Taotai  Chung  and  Mun 
Yew,  managing  director  of  the  China  Merchants'  Steamship 
Co.  (the  government  line),  and  Taotai  Wang  Chung  Liang, 
managing  director  of  the  Pukow  Tientsin  Railroad,  sat  close 


24  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

to  me.  I  was  well  acquainted  with  them  all  and,  as  they 
speak  English  well,  it  made  a  very  pleasant  party  and  I 
enjoyed  the  evening  better  than  any  entertainment  I  have 
attended  in  many  a  day.  The  conversation  was  animated  and 
dealt  wath  all  the  subjects  that  are  now  troubling  China,  and 
as  they  all  had  their  hand  on  the  pulse  of  matters  deeply 
affecting  China  and  the  rest  of  the  \vorld,  it  was  interesting 
and  instructive.  While  we  are  on  a  commercial  trip  politics 
and  the  policy  of  China  and  the  nations  closely  connected  with 
her  prosperity  or  in  many  cases  her  adversity,  all  come  to  the 
surface,  especially  when  we  come  in  close  intimate  personal 
contact  with  the  great  men  of  China. 

The  Viceroy  delivered  a  speech  of  welcome  and  asked  us 
for  advice  and  criticisms  on  China.  Mr.  R.  Hotaling  made  a 
stirring  reply,  such  as  no  diplomat  or  representative  of  any 
government  would  have  dared  to  make,  as  he  would  have 
instantly  lost  his  job.  We  had  an  instance  of  this  in  ]\Ir. 
Crane.  Mr.  Hotaling  told  them  their  only  hope  was  to  get  a 
great  army  and  navy  so  as  to  meet  force  with  superior  force 
and  enforce  their  just  demands.  Our  Commissioners  have  only 
been  ten  days  in  China,  but  they  have  seen  enough  already  to 
convince  them  of  the  injustice  that  is  being  perpetrated  on  the 
Chinese  by  foreigners.  Sign  boards  in  the  park  in  Shanghai 
stated  that  Chinese  were  not  admitted  unless  they  were  servants 
to  Europeans.  Our  Commissioners  can't  get  over  it,  especially 
when  the  Chinese  pay  nine-tenths  of  the  cost  of  the  upkeep. 
Verily  a  day  of  reckoning  is  coming.  The  import  duty  is  five 
per  cent  on  most  articles.  China  wanted  to  raise  this  two  and 
one-half  per  cent.  The  foreign  powers  said  no  and  no  went. 
Why?  Because  China's  army  was  not  large  enough  yet.  I  have 
digressed.  When  the  banquet  was  over  the  Viceroy  sent  a 
message  to  me  saying  if  I  was  not  too  tired  he  would  like  to 
have  an  hour's  conversation  with  me  alone,  in  which  we  dis- 
cussed matters  that  would  not  be  proper  to  write,  as  the 
conference  was  private.  I  suggested  that  it  would  be  interest- 
ing for  our  party  to  see  a  drill  of  one  of  his  regiments.  xA-s 
he  has  16,000  troops  here  he  consented,  and  at  five  o'clock  next 
morning,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  ask  me  to  say  that  he  invited 
us  all  to  see  it.  No  one  was  admitted  to  the  drill  but  our 
party,  as  it  was  for  our  special  benefit. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  25 

To  give  you  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  respect  they 
showed  us.  A  double  row  of  troops  on  each  side  from  the 
street  entrance  to  the  house  presented  arms  as  we  went  in. 
A  fine  band  played  our  American  national  airs,  and  after  our 
party  had  all  gone  an  hour  I  was  astounded  when  we  came 
into  the  courtyard,  to  see  soldiers  and  servants  had  been 
held  waiting  so  that  in  passing  out  the  servants  or  rather 
attendants  of  the  Viceroy  would  accompany  us  between  the 
rows  of  soldiers  presenting  arms  while  the  band  played 
"Marching  Through  Georgia,"  and  all  this  from  a  people 
so  recently  said  to  be  antagonistic  to  foreigners.  With  all 
this  display  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  we  never  lost  sight  of 
the  fact  that  we  are  here  for  a  purpose  and  always  bring  up 
and  keep  strongly  before  them  the  commercial  relations 
between  our  countries.  And  I  must  say  that  whenever  we  talk 
trade  and  commerce  Oriental  customs  and  ceremonies  dis- 
appear, and  to  use  a  military  term,  they  immediately  stand  at 
attention  and  listen  most  intently  to  all  we  have  to  say.  We 
insist  on  getting  conferences  every  day  with  the  merchants 
for  an  informal  talk  on  matters  of  trade,  as  we  find  it  affects 
each  separate  district.  To  say  that  our  party  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  review  would  not  express  it.  Some  of  them  knew 
considerable  of  military  affairs  and  they  saw  the  drill  was 
entirely  German.  They  showed  us  their  barracks'  gymnastic 
drill,  which  was  wonderful,  as  the  athletes  were  not  selected, 
but  a  company  indiscriminately  for  each  particular  drill, 
climbing  fences  and  stone  walls  exceeded  anything  we  had 
ever  seen.  One  of  our  party  who  was  up  in  military  matters 
said  he  could  not  have  believed  it  had  he  not  seen  for  himself 
that  they  were  so  proficient.  After  it  was  over  the  general 
took  us  into  the  officers'  mess  room,  where  cake,  wine  and  tea 
was  served  at  a  long  table  especially  prepared.  So  ended  one 
of  the  most  interesting  sights  we  have  had  in  China. 

We  learned  that  a  soldier's  wages  averages  $3.00  gold  a 
month.  They  board  themselves  out  of  this.  Their  uniform 
is  furnished  them.  We  were  told  that  many  young  men  of 
good  families  form  the  army  now.  It  was  considered  a  dis- 
grace to  be  a  soldier  up  to  five  or  six  years  ago.  We  got 
another  illustration  of  New  China  in  the  fair  ground,  in  the 
large  audience  hall.     About  one  hundred  children  from  the 


26  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

Mission  Kindergarten  School  gave  us  an  exhibition.  Little  tots 
from  five  to  six  years  old  and  a  class  of  sixty  girls  from  ten  to 
twelve,  sang  American  songs,  played  on  piano,  etc.,  and  as  a 
contrast,  music  of  China's  old  style  was  rendered.  The 
contrast  was  very  great  and  shows  what  rapid  strides  the 
new  education  is  making.  This  being  China's  first  exposition 
shows  how  they  are  advancing  in  western  ideas.  The  man- 
agement told  us  of  the  almost  insurmountable  difficulties  they 
had  to  overcome  to  get  it  up,  and  it  is  wonderful  the  ability 
and  energy  they  have  shown  in  getting  up  such  a  creditable 
show. 

NANKING    UNIVERSITY 

We  had  a  reception  at  the  Nanking  University.  This 
is  a  combination  of  Presbyterian,  Methodist  and  Christian 
churches,  all  American.  This  union  of  churches  and  colleges 
as  well  as  missions  is  the  proper  way ;  in  fact,  China  is  show- 
ing us  the  w'ay  in  this  respect.  It  is  concentration  of  effort 
and  talent  and  a  great  saving  of  money  and  withal  getting 
far  better  results  and  a  far  greater  respect  from  the  Chinese. 
The  president.  Prof.  Davis,  delivered  a  very  good,  short, 
concise  and  to  the  point  address.  They  have  600  students, 
so  they  are  full  to  overflowing,  but  new  buildings  are  being 
erected.  They  have  1200  communicants  in  connection  with  the 
various  missions  in  the  city.  There  is  such  a  demand  for 
educated  young  men  that  it  is  hard  to  get  any  to  take  the 
full  course.  High  wages  are  offered  them  as  soon  as  they  get 
only  a  fair  education.  The  demands  for  teachers  for  the 
public  schools  throughout  China  can  not  possibly  be  supplied 
and  the  supply  will  not  be  up  to  the  demand  for  years  to  come 
on  account  of  education  being  compulsory  after  three  years. 

They  have  had  the  foresight  to  secure  large,  desirable 
grounds  for  the  university  and  their  future  looks  bright  and 
their  power  for  good  as  years  roll  on  will  be  felt  all  over 
China.  Mr.  Dickson  of  Tacoma  made  a  very  suitable  reply, 
and  after  refreshments  were  served  and  an  informal  talk  T 
visited  the  buildings  and  grounds.  I  found  they  are  putting 
up  excellent  permanent  buildings  and  at  lower  price  than  I 
have  found  in  China,  so  their  business  management  must  be 
of  a  very  high  order. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR 


PROVINCIAL   ASSEMBLY 


27 


The  Provincial  Assembly  of  Kiangsu  province  invited  us 
to  attend  a  banquet  in  their  building,  which  is  not  quite  com- 
pleted yet.  This  corresponds  to  our  State  Legislature  and 
the  building  to  the  capitol  building  in  our  States.  As  they 
are  only  getting  started  in  this  new  departure  of  constitutional 
government  this  meeting  of  all  the  Assemblymen  w^as  most 
important  as  they  were  extremely  anxious  to  learn  from  us 
what  has  proved  good  and  what  is  bad  in  our  form  of  State 
government  so  that  they  could  accept  the  good  and  discard 
the  bad.  Our  banquet  was  held  in  their  assembly  room  and 
this  is  the  first  time  it  ever  had  been  used  for  any  purpose 
and  a  remarkable  occurrence  was  that  the  health  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  was  proposed  by  the  President 
of  the  Assembly  on  our  assembling.  So  really  the  building 
was  opened  in  our  honor  and  it  turned  out  to  be  a  history- 
making  event.  Speeches  were  made  in  Chinese  and  English. 
The  principal  addresses  were  by  the  President  of  the  Assembly 
and  Mr.  Blaine  of  Seattle,  the  latter  giving  an  eloquent  and 
able  address  on  Constitutional  Government.  To  give  an  idea 
of  what  the  banquet  was.  It  was  all  sent  from  Shanghai, 
200  miles  distant — decorations,  flowers,  food,  waiters,  a  band 
of  musicians ;  in  fact,  everything.  It  must  have  cost  them  a 
great  deal  of  money.  The  Assembly  have  only  had  one 
session  in  a  temporary  building  and  will  soon  open  their 
regular  sessions  in  their  own  fine,  large  stone  building,  built 
on  modern  and  most  approved  style.  All  this  is  preparatory 
to  the  establishment  of  the  federal  or  constitutional  govern- 
ment in  Peking. 

We  visited  the  Ming  Tombs  outside  of  the  city  wall.  We 
drove  in  carriages  to  the  gate  and  from  there  we  were 
conveyed  in  Sedan  chairs,  donkeys  and  ponies  as  we  chose. 
It  is  only  about  two  miles  from  the  city  wall  gate.  The  last 
Ming  Emperor  was  buried  here  over  450  years  ago  and  the 
first  one  of  record  was  about  1800  years  ago.  For  China  the 
tombs  are  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation.  A  few  of  the 
descendants  live  there  and  have  sufficient  land  to  support  them, 
but  according  to  our  ideas  of  looking  after  such  historic  places 
they  are  sadly  neglected.     Great  stone  elephants,  camels  and 


28  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

dromedaries  and  various  other  representations  of  animals, 
etc.,  line  the  road  on  each  side.  Their  size  is  about  three 
times  larger  than  natural,  each  cne  is  fenced  in  to  prevent 
vandalism  by  our  civilized  European  and  American  travelers, 
which  seriously  affects  the  appearance,  making  one  think  of 
an  animal  caged  up  in  a  menagerie.  Our  hosts  again  outdid 
themselves  in  thoughtfulness  and  hospitality.  They  actually 
had  tables,  chairs,  carpets,  refreshments,  champagne,  etc.,  all 
carried  out  from  the  city  and  served  us  in  the  temple  at 
the  Tombs.  While  it  wasn't  yet  noon  we  had  an  appetite  and 
appreciated  it  very  much.  I  might  also  add  that  carriages, 
chairs,  horses,  in  fact,  everything  for  our  comfort,  was  paid 
by  our  hosts,  not  only  on  this  trip,  but  wherever  we  went 
about  the  city.  From  the  Tombs  we  had  a  beautiful  view  of 
the  city  and  surrounding  country.  The  weather  was  perfect, 
neither  too  hot  nor  cold,  and  we  had  a  most  enjoyable  fore- 
noon.   At  I  p.  m.  we  reached  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

At  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  we  were  received  by  the 
merchants  of  the  city  where  presents  of  various  kinds  were 
given  us  and  an  elaborate  luncheon  was  served.  The  whole 
place  was  decorated  with  flags,  flowers  and  evergreens.  Ad- 
dresses were  delivered  and  after  the  meeting  a  committee 
from  both  sides  met  to  discuss  trade  conditions  and  at  first 
it  was  difficult  to  get  at  the  information  we  wanted.  After 
patient,  persistent  work  we  got  at  it  and  secured  valuable 
information.  Nanking  is  an  official  city  and  trade  has  always 
been  of  very  secondary  consideration  and  it  would  take  a 
good  deal  of  talk  and  persuasion  to  get  them  out  of  the  rut. 
There  are  no  manufactures  outside  of  silk  in  this  city,  but 
there  is  no  reason  why,  with  such  a  large  population,  it  should 
not  be  a  manufacturing  point,  as  means  of  communication  are 
excellent  and  cheap,  both  water  and  rail  being  available  and 
having  all  the  visible  and  invisible  products  of  the  Yangtse 
valley  to  draw  from.  The  enclosed  part  of  the  city  is  about 
eight  miles  long  by  four  miles  wide;  and  the  wall  is  said  to  be 
thirty  miles  long,  averaging  about  fifty  feet  high.  Part  of  it 
was  built  2700  years  ago.  The  arches  at  the  gates  built  at 
that  time  stand  as  perfect  and  symmetrical  as  the  day  they 
were  built.  But  the  walled  cities  of  China  are  about  to 
exchange  the  walls  for  more  necessary  things,  namely :  sewers, 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  29 

waterworks  and  electric  lights.  Nanking  was  partially  lit  up 
for  the  first  time  with  electricity  about  two  weeks  ago.  At 
the  Viceroy's  yamen  the  work  was  hurried  on  so  as  to  be 
ready  for  our  reception.  So  even  China  is  moving.  We 
were  tendered  a  banquet  at  the  Astor  House  by  the  Ex- 
position Commissioners  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  This 
was  a  very  elaborate  affair.  Xinety-eight  were  in  attendance. 
The  usual  speeches  were  made  and  all  joined  in  having  a  real 
good  time.  After  it  was  over  we  all  walked  over  and  through 
the  exposition  grounds,  preceded  by  a  military  band,  soldiers 
and  an  innumerable  lot  of  men  carrying  lanterns  having 
American  and  Chinese  flags.  A  gieat  crowd  was  lined  along 
the  way.  We  then  went  out  of  the  grounds  to  a  Chinese 
theater,  where  a  special  play  had  been  prepared  for  us.  The 
costumes  were  the  most  gorgeous  that  any  of  us  had  ever  seen, 
and  the  playing  was  very  good.  While  we  could  not  under- 
stand what  was  said  we  could  easily  follow  what  was  meant. 
We  got  to  the  hotel  at  midnight  and  had  to  pack  up  as  the 
baggage  was  to  be  moved  that  night,  so  this  can  be  con- 
sidered to  be  a  day  filled  to  overflowing. 

Tuesday  we  left  Nanking  at  9 :30  in  the  morning.  A 
special  train  of  private  cars  was  waiting  for  us.  but  before 
going  on  board  the  president  and  directors  of  the  exposition 
came  to  the  station  to  see  us  off  and  to  present  to  us  a  large 
silver  bowl  for  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of 
the  Pacific  Coast.  The  engine  and  train  was  fully  decorated 
with  Chinese  and  American  flags.  At  Shai  Ouan  our  train 
was  turned  over  to  the  Shanghai  and  Nanking  railroad.  Their 
engine  was  also  decorated  and  pulled  us  to  Chinkiang.  where 
we  were  met  by  the  officials  of  the  city  and  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  who  conducted  us  to  a  pavilion  in  a  garden, 
where  luncheon  was  served  and  addresses  were  delivered. 
We  asked  them  to  appoint  a  committee  to  meet  with  our 
Trade  and  Commerce  Committee,  and  on  the  boat  going  down 
the  creek  we  endeavored  to  find  out  what  they  would  buv 
from  us  and  what  they  had  to  sell.  It  appears  that  the 
Shanghai  merchants  buy  all  their  products  and  that  there  is 
no  direct  trade  between  this  city  and  the  United  States,  but 
it  developed  that  the  only  way  to  work  up  a  direct  trade  would 
be  for  our  merchants  to  have  men  on  the  spot.     In  fact,  our 


30  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

investigation  so  far  has  made  this  fact  very  plain  to  us,  that 
if  our  merchants  want  a  part  of  this  trade,  they  must  send 
the  best  men  here  and  let  them  familiarize  themselves  with 
the  conditions  then  business  is  sure  to  result,  and  while  the 
high  cost  of  wages  will  handicap  our  manufacturers  and  shut 
them  out  on  some  lines  where  they  will  come  in  direct  com- 
petition with  British  and  German  firms  still  there  are  many 
lines  where  they  can  get  in.  I  have  reference  to  cities  outside 
of  San  Francisco,  as  the  labor  conditions  put  that  city  com- 
pletely out  of  it.  We  visited  the  golden  pagoda  and  went 
by  way  of  the  Yangtze  river  to  Chinkiang,  traveling  in  junks 
towed  by  a  small  tug.  They  were  fitted  up  in  fine  style  and 
used  as  pleasure  boats.  At  Chinkiang  we  landed  and  went 
to  a  restaurant  for  dinner.  A  military  band  was  in  attendance 
and  a  double  row  of  soldiers  presented  arms  as  we  went  from 
the  landing  to  the  restaurant.  The  city  at  this  part  was  gay 
in  flags  and  colored  electric  lights.  At  Wu  Hu  we  called  for 
two  hours.  The  officials  of  the  city  came  on  board  and  ga^•e 
and  received  addresses. 

Kuikiang — We  spent  three  hours  at  this  place  and  were 
received  by  the  Taotai  and  magistrates,  our  Ladies'  Missionary 
Committee  visited  the  various  missions  and  were  much  pleased 
at  what  they  saw.  The  ladies  take  no  one's  say-so.  but  go, 
see  and  investigate  for  themselves.  They  are  pushing  the 
educational  work.  A  Chinese  Christian  woman  is  conducting 
successfully  a  hospital.  She  has  an  M.  D.  degree  from  some 
American  college. 

Soul  Yoiv — We  arrived  at  this  place  at  daylight  and  at 
8  o'clock  landed  and  boarded  cars  that  were  waiting  to  take  us 
to  the  great  iron  mine  of  Tah  Yei,  which  we  reached  in  one 
hour.  They  are  working  at  two  places,  two  miles  apart.  We 
visited  both  places.  At  the  last  place  a  pavilion  had  been 
erected  and  lunch  was  served.  It  looked  as  if  all  the  people  of 
the  surrounding  country  had  assembled  to  see  us,  as  there  was 
a  great  crowd,  probably  2000,  outside  of  those  employed  at 
the  mines,  which,  we  were  told,  was  2500.  In  former  visits  I 
described  this  great  mine,  which  is  really  a  cpiarry,  as  there 
are  no  shafts  or  drifts;  it  is  just  a  mountain  of  ore.  500  feet  to 
550  feet  high.  We  returned  to  our  steamer  and  took  our 
departure  for  Hankmv,  calling  at  W'ang  Shi  Ouang  on  the 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  3 1 

way,  arri\ing  at  Hankow  at  lo  p.  m.  We  remained  on  the 
boat  for  the  night. 

Haiikozi* — Next  morning,  October  i,  we  visited  the 
Yangtze  Engineering  Works  at  Seven-Mile  Creek.  I  found 
these  works  had  doubled  during  the  year.  They  have  lots  of 
work  on  hand  and  now  employ  1500  men.  A  lunch  was  served 
and  I  replied  to  our  host  and  complimented  him  for  being  the 
first  host  that  did  not  serve  wine. 

At  noon  we  arrived  at  the  Han  Yang  Iron  and  Steel 
Works  and  after  examining  the  big  iron  blast  furnaces  that 
were  vomiting  forth  molten  metal  we  were  conveyed  to  a 
pavilion  specially  erected  for  us  where  an  elaborate  lunch  was 
served.  The  place  was  in  the  midst  of  the  plant  and  beauti- 
fully decorated  with  evergreens  and  flags.  Mr.  Lee  made  1 
very  interesting  address  of  welcome  and  Mr.  Piggott  delivered 
a  well-prepared  and  valuable  address  on  the  iron  and  steel 
industry  which  he  understood  well.  After  lunch  we  visited 
the  Bessemer  plant,  rolling  mill's,  etc.  I  forgot  to  say  that 
they  had  prepared  a  train  of  cars  to  take  us  less  than  one- 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  landing  to  the  office  decorated  in 
evergreens  and  bunting;  so  no  expense  was  spared  for  our 
comfort  and  pleasure.  After  seeing  the  mine  at  Tah  Yei,  and 
this  big  plant,  our  members  have  changed  their  opinions  of 
Chinese  industries  and  of  their  management  by  Chinese;  in 
fact,  it  was  a  wonderful  revelation  to  them  all,  and  all  were 
very  positive  about  this  change,  and  that  Xew  China  had 
arrived  and  the  sleep  of  ages  was  about  at  an  end.  It  was  a 
sight  we  were  unprepared  for,  to  stand  at  the  end  of  the  rolling 
mill  and  see  bars,  plates  and  steel  rails  coming  out  in  various 
merchantable  shapes.  We  learned  that  there  were  about 
25,000  men  employed  in  the  coal  and  iron  mines,  coke  ovens, 
transportation  and  in  the  plant  just  described.  They  have 
many  tugs,  barges,  junks  and  steamers,  about  sixty  miles  of  a 
coal  railroad  and  fourteen  miles  of  iron  ore  railroad,  all  in 
about  the  geographical  center  of  China.  Situated  on  this,  one 
of  the  greatest  rivers,  where  at  the  works  it  is  over  one  and 
one-quarter  miles  wide  and  over  700  miles  from  the  ocean,  for 
eight  months  in  the  year  vessels  drawing  thirty  feet  of  water 
can  come  direct  to  Hankow.  We  paid  a  hurried  visit  to  the 
waterworks  and  returned  to  the  hotel  for  dinner.     That  night 


32  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

we  attended  the  reception  given  by  the  American  Consul- 
General  which  was  a  great  affair,  about  all  the  foreign  popula- 
tion being  present.  So  from  8  a.  m.  until  after  midnight  we 
were  continuously  on  the  go.  Sunday  came  next  as  a  day  of 
rest,  in  our  imagination  only.  In  the  early  morning  I  had  a  lot 
of  cables  to  translate  and  at  1 1  a.  m.  we  went  to  Wuchang  to  a 
great  official  banquet  given  by  the  Viceroy  of  Hupeh  province. 
He  sent  two  government  gunboats  to  take  us  across  the  river 
and  back.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  great  expense  to  which  they 
went  to  entertain  us,  His  Excellency  thought  his  yamen  was 
not  grand  enough,  so  rented  a  very  large  building  and  fitted 
it  up  in  grand  style  for  this  function.  The  road  was  lined  up 
with  soldiers,  and  in  the  halls  and  large  court  was  stationed  a 
fine  military  band.  While  we  were  marching  in  they  played 
the  new  Chinese  national  anthem,  which  has  only  been  out 
for  a  short  time.  In  several  places  they  have  had  military 
brass  bands  to  receive  us  and  they  are  very  good  and  entirely 
modern  and  up  to  date.  About  150  sat  down  to  the  banquet. 
The  decorations  were  very  fine,  the  walls  were  hung  with  very 
large  American  and  Chinese  flags;  the  flowers  and  silk  trim- 
mings on  the  table  exceeded  anything  we  had  seen  in  this 
line.  Mr.  Stearn  gave  the  address  in  reply  to  the  Viceroy's 
welcome.  The  banquet  lasted  three  hours  and  on  our  return  to 
Hankow  a  meeting  had  been  called  for  the  Committee  on 
Commerce,  so  we  had  to  drive  to  the  Chinese  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  where  we  talked  with  twenty  of  the  leading 
merchants  on  trade  matters.  From  there  we  drove  to  a  church 
service  at  6:30  p.  m.,  where  we  had  a  very  instructive  and 
interesting  sermon  by  Rev.  Littel  on  what  missions  had  done 
and  were  doing  in  China.  It  certainly  was  appropriate  and 
timely  and  nearly  all  of  our  party  attended.  After  the  service 
Mr.  Wong  Quang  invited  us  to  dinner  at  his  house.  We  got 
back  to  the  hotel  tired  out  after  10  p.  m.  If  any  one  thinks 
this  trip  is  a  picnic  they  are  much  mistaken.  Monday  morning 
at  it  again.  At  8  o'clock  visiting  cotton,  hemp,  flax  and  silk 
factories  and  a  large  grist  mill.  All  those  were  large,  modern, 
up-to-date  plants.  We  also  visited  a  Russian  tea  factory 
which  puts  up  tea  in  bricks  for  transportation  to  Russia.  The 
tea  is  ground,  steamed  and  pressed  by  hydraulic  power  into 
bricks  about  4x6  inches  and  i  inch  thick.     It  looks  like  black 


o"    _ 
30- 

-^  2    ■< 
1-   2 


If  5 


*<  >  > 


5i< 


ROBERT     DOLLAR 


33 


plug  tobacco.  This  is  quite  a  tea  center.  \Vq  crossed  the  river 
to  ^^'ucha^g•  to  visit  Boon  University,  where  we  lunched,  saw 
the  fine  buildings  and  grounds  and  about  350  Chinese  young- 
men  go  through  their  military  drill.  This  is  a  very  old  school 
and  everything  about  it  was  in  excellent  condition.  Prof. 
Jackson  is  in  charge,  who,  with  his  wife,  we  knew.  The 
students'  grounds  and  buildings  made  a  very  creditable  show- 
ing. \\'e  visited  several  other  factories  and  arrived  at  the 
hotel  in  time  to  dress  for  the  great  banquet  and  reception  to 
be  held  at  the  Chinese  race  track,  three  miles  outside  of  the  city. 
Although  we  were  not  aware  of  it  this  proved  to  be  the  grand 
event  of  our  trip. 

RECEPTION  AXD  BAXQUET  AT  THE  CHINESE 
RACE  CLUB 


T 


HE  track  is  three  miles  from  the  city.  The  buildings  are 
large  and  commodious  and  the  grounds  laid  out  in 
shrubs  and  flowers.  A  good  road  connects  it  with  the 
city.  In  describing  this  entertainment  I  want  to  say  that  it  is 
impossible  to  do  it  anywhere  near  justice.  I  asked  a  newspaper 
reporter  if  he  could  do  it,  but  he  said  it  was  impossible.  In 
driving  out  from  the  city  the  road  was  so  crowded  that  the 
carriages  had  to  go  slowly  and  as  we  got  near  the  place  the 
crowd  was  so  great  we  had  to  proceed  at  a  walk  with  frecjuent 
stops.  At  the  approach  to  the  grounds  the  way  was  cleared  by 
soldiers  of  which  there  was  a  great  number,  also  volunteers  and 
firemen  in  uniform.  A  triumphal  arch  had  been  built  three 
stories  high.  This  was  full  of  people,  as  it  commanded  a  fine 
view  of  the  grounds.  It  was  brilliantly  lighted  by  electric  bulbs 
of  different  colors,  which  presented  a  gorgeous  appearance. 
From  the  verandas  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  crowd, 
which  extended  about  a  radius  of  half  a  mile.  It  was  as  light 
as  day  from  the  numbers  of  electric  lights  and  the  fireworks. 
Military  bands  and  native  ones,  bugles  and  drums,  made  music 
and  noise  to  please  all  classes  in  the  croAvd.  The  reception 
rooms  presented  an  animated  appearance,  and  the  large  ban- 
quet room  was  packed  to  its  utmost  capacity.  I  think  about 
150  were  present.  The  room  was  very  nicely  decorated  and 
a   Chinese  dinner   was  served.        All  the  entertainment  was 


34  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

provided  by  the  Hankow  Chamber  of  Commerce.  The  vice- 
chairman  made  a  very  good,  carefully  prepared  address  along 
commercial  lines  which  was  well  received  by  all  of  our  party. 
Mr.  Booth  introduced  me  as  the  speaker  of  the  evening,  saying 
the  introduction  was  unnecessary  as  they  nearly  all  knew  me. 
He  paid  a  very  flattering  compliment  in  saying  that  I  was  a 
man  who  not  only  said,  but  did  things,  and  in  the  development 
of  the  American  trade  in  Hankow  I  had  played  a  conspicuous 
part.  They  gave  me  a  great  ovation.  I  confined  my  remiarks 
to  the  Yangtse  valley  as  follows: 

ADDRESS  OF  ROBERT  DOLLAR 

Your  Excellency,    Members    of  Hankow    Chamber    of  Com- 
merce, Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

"I  have  to  thank  you  for  the  great  ovation  which  you 
have  just  given  me.  I  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass 
without  saying  to  you,  without  any  fear  of  contradiction, 
that  no  commercial  men  in  the  history  of  the  world  have  ever 
received  such  a  reception  as  we  received  at  your  hands  and 
the  mass  of  people  in  your  city. 

"I  will  endeavor  to  confine  my  remarks  to  you  as  a  business 
man  to  business  men,  and  consequently  they  must  be  practical. 
The  object  of  our  visit  was  set  forth  in  the  invitation  which 
you  sent  us ;  at  the  end  of  it  you  say :  ( i )  'To  Promote  Mutual 
Good  Will'  and  (2)  'The  Growth  of  Trade  Between  Two 
Nations.'  You  have  divided  it  into  two  parts;  the  first  part 
has  been  dealt  with  fully,  as  everywhere  we  have  gone  our 
reception  has  been  sincere  and  enthusiastic,  and  even  this 
early  in  our  journey  I  consider  it  has  been  accomplished.  The 
second  part  is  not  so  easy  and  will  tax  to  the  utmost  all  our 
thoughts,  ability  and  energy  to  accomplish. 

"As  I  am  addressing  an  audience  of  what  you  are  very 
proud  to  call  the  Chicago  of  China,  and  which  I  accept  as  a 
great  compliment  to  Americans,  I  will  confine  my  remarks 
to  the  Yangtse  Valley.  Seeing  that  one-quarter  of  a  billion 
people  live  in  the  valley  and  its  tributaries,  I  confess  to  have 
taken  a  subject  so  great  that  it  is  entirely  beyond  my  ability  to 
do  it  justice.  Hankow's  trade  is  increasing  by  leaps  and 
bounds.    You  will  see  by  statistics  that  during  the  last  fifteen 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  35 

years  the  trade  has  increased  tremendously.  This  in  some 
measure  is  the  result  of  railway  communication  opened  six 
years  ago,  which  has  only  begun  in  a  small  way.  As  we  look 
forward  to  Hankow  being  the  railroad  center  of  China  and 
being  at  the  head  of  deep-water  navigation,  it  will  certainly  be 
the  great  commercial  center  of  China.  The  reason  of  this  is 
not  far  to  seek.  This  is  one  of  the  richest  agricultural  valleys 
in  the  world,  capable  of  producing  everything  that  man  re- 
quires in  abundance.  Up  to  the  present  time  you  lack  large 
manufacturing  plants,  as  with  your  agricultural  productions 
and  your  natural  resources  you  will  be  able  to  manufacture  for 
the  whole  world.  In  time  your  river  must  be  made  navigable 
for  vessels  drawing  twenty-five  feet  of  water  all  the  year.  This 
I  know  to  many  of  you  would  seem  an  almost  impossible  task, 
but  greater  things  than  this  have  been  done  in  the  world.  (We 
are  engaged  in  a  much  greater  undertaking  at  present,  I  mean 
the  Panama  Canal.)  I  have  given  the  improvement  of  your 
river  some  thought  and  I  consider  it  an  absolute  necessity  that 
this  work  shall  be  done.  There  are  only  nine  shallow  places 
to  be  overcome,  and  as  soon  as  trade  develops  as  we  expect, 
the  necessity  will  be  more  apparent.  So  do  not  be  discouraged, 
as  men,  money  and  energy  can  accomplish  anything  in  reason. 
I  expect  to  live  to  come  up  this  river  in  January  or  February 
on  one  of  my  vessels  drawing  twenty-five  feet  of  water. 

"As  to  the  future  prospects  of  this  great  valley,  I  have 
often  thought  over  what  this  would  be,  but  I  am  free  to 
say  that  the  possibilities  are  so  great  that  it  goes  completely 
beyond  my  comprehension.  In  agriculture,  while  the  high 
state  of  cultivation  could  be  bettered  by  fertilization,  this 
would  increase  your  crops  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  and 
still  more  remunerative  crops  will  be  raised.  A  few  years  ago 
sesimum  seed  was  almost  unknown.  Now  your  exports  are 
very  great.  No  doubt  you  will  go  into  cotton  growing  on  a 
large  scale,  especially  when  your  cotton  mills  are  built  in 
great  numbers  and  on  a  large  scale. 

"But  when  we  consider  your  minerals,  we  are  lost  in 
wonder.  A  German  expert  claims  there  is  more  coal  in  this 
valley  than  in  the  rest  of  the  world.  I  think  it  quite  safe  to 
make  the  same  estimate  of  your  iron  ore.  Now  with  those  two 
minerals  laying  side  by  side  and  in  a  country  of  cheap  labor — 


36  "  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

and  the  abundance  of  it  can  better  be  understood  by  again 
repeating  that  one-sixth  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  Hve 
in  this  great  valley  and  tributaries — and  seeing  that  this  is 
properly  called  the  age  of  steel,  I  will  not  live  to  see  it,  but 
the  day  is  coming  when  the  production  of  steel  from  this 
country  will  exceed  that  of  the  whole  world. 

"In  railroads  is  your  great  hope  to  open  up  and  develop 
your  countr3\  You  have  an  example  before  you  of  what  the 
Pe  Han  Railroad  has  done  for  the  country  through  which  it 
passes.  When  this  road  was  built  there  was  no  freight  to 
carry.  But  now,  in  harvest  time,  it  is  taxed  to  its  utmost 
capacity.  The  South  Manchurian  Railroad  has  been  double- 
tracked  and  it  also  at  times  cannot  carry  the  freight.  One 
and  a  quarter  million  tons  of  beans  alone  came  over  that  road 
in  1909,  and  as  you  continue  building  additional  roads  you 
will  find  those  conditions  continue. 

"I  consider  the  province  of  Szechwan  the  greatest  mineral- 
bearing  country  in  the  world,  and  with  its  sixty-nine  millions 
of  people,  as  soon  as  railroads  run  through  it,  we  will  hear 
from  it.  It  is  practically  unknown  now  to  the  w^orld  except  to 
a  very  few  tra^•elers.  Not  one  man  in  thousands  who  visits 
China  ever  gets  to  see  this  province. 

"From  what  I  have  said  you  will  readily  understand  that 
you  have  a  gigantic  task  on  your  hands,  and  it  will  take  all 
the  energy  you  are  possessed  of  and  you  must  have  money  to 
do  it  with.  One  very  important  factor  is  what  we  call  captains 
of  industry  to  direct  all  those  great  works.  I  am  pleased  co 
say  that  you  do  not  require  to  go  abroad  for  them,  as  from 
personal  experience  I  know  you  have  them  right  here  to  start 
with. 

"From  what  I  have  said  you  will  see  that  we  think  you 
have  one  of  the  richest  heritages  of  the  world.  But  undevel- 
oped as  they  are  your  minerals  are  of  no  more  value  than  dirt 
in  the  street,  so  you  must  be  up  and  doing.  There  is  lots  of 
hard  work  ahead  of  you,  but  that,  coupled  with  energy  and 
money,  and  your  future  is  assured.  You,  young  men,  have 
tlie  making  of  China  in  your  hands." 

After  the  speaking  all  went  on  the  verandas  to  see  the 
fireworks  go  off  in  earnest.  They  had  erected  a  tower  of 
bamboo  poles  about  sixty  feet  high  and  from  this  the  various 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  37 

pieces  were  set  off.  Xone  of  us  had  even  seen  such  a  displas'- 
before.  As  the  crowd  was  all  waiting  to  see  us  depart,  I 
suggested  that  we  should  leave  before  midnight,  which  we  did. 
Knowing  that  the  crowd  had  to  walk  from  four  to  five  miles 
to  their  homes,  it  showed  more  than  anything  else  what  a 
cordial  reception  we  received,  not  from  the  officials  and  mer- 
chants alone,  but  from  the  mass  of  common  people,  as  it  must 
have  been  long  after  i  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  many  of 
them  got  home. 

We  have  been  told  on  all  sides  and  by  different  classes  of 
people  that  there  never  had  been  such  a  reception  given 
to  anyone  in  China,  and  the  significance  of  it  is  in  the 
thought  that  Hankow  is  destined  to  be  the  greatest  commercial 
center  in  China.  So  if  it  is  only  possible  to  get  our  merchants 
to  understand  the  prospects,  they  should  get  their  share  in  the 
future  great  expansion  of  trade  of  the  Yangtse  Valley.  But 
this  must  be  done  by  personal  visits  of  our  merchants  or  their 
representatives.  No  other  way  will  do.  The  Germans  and 
English  are  everywhere;  the  Americans  are  only  conspicuous 
by  their  absence.  Time  will  tell  whether  they  want  this  trade 
or  not.  We  all  went  home  tired  out,  but  with  a  lot  of  food 
for  serious  thought  at  the  magnitude  of  the  problem  before 
us. 

We  left  this  city  at  10:30  a.  m.  and  at  the  station  it  was 
nicely  decorated  and  a  great  lot  of  firecrackers  were  set  off  to 
bid  us  godspeed  and  good  luck.  The  principal  merchants  and 
citizens  were  on  hand  to  see  us  off  and  we  got  an  official 
goodby  from  the  Taotai  and  his  staff"  as  well  as  a  representative 
from  the  Viceroy  of  Hupeh  province,  in  which  Hankow^  is 
situated.  A  special  train  was  provided  by  the  Central  Gov- 
ernment on  orders  from  the  ^Minister  of  Communications.  It 
consisted  of  six  sleeping  cars  (Belgian  style  of  cars,  as  this 
road  was  built  by  them,  but  afterwards  sold  to  the  Chinese 
government),  one  large  dining  car,  where  we  got  the  best  of 
everything,  and  two  baggage  cars,  this  completed  our 
special  train,  which  was  very  comfortable  and  all  we  could 
have  wished  for,  especially  as  it  was  furnished  free  of  charge 
to  us.  On  the  way  we  noticed  that  the  harvest  was  about  over 
and  the  farmers  were  preparing  the  land  for  next  year's  crops. 
Our  party  was  much  surprised  to  see  such  a  rich  agricultural 


38  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

country,  which,  except  one  sHght  elevation,  is  perfectly  level, 
all  of  the  nearly  800  miles  from  Hankow  to  Peking.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  railroad  from  Peking  to  Mukden, 
another  500  miles.  One  fact  that  is  apparent  to  all  is  that  it 
is  a  rich  agricultural  country,  mostly  of  a  rich  alluvial  soil. 
Having  been  under  cultivation  for  thousands  of  years  it  now 
requires  fertilizers  on  a  large  scale  which  would  mcrease  the 
crops  very  much. 

Peking — We  arrived  at  5  p.  m.  All  the  party  got  rooms 
at  the  Hotel  des  Wagon  Litz.  The  appearance  of  the  city 
was  so  different  from  the  other  places  we  had  visited  that  it 
could  not  help  causing  surprise.  Not  a  flag  nor  a  piece  of  bunt- 
ing visible.  Articles  in  the  papers  that  the  Japanese  were  com- 
plaining bitterly  that  their  party  of  distinguished  business 
men  who  had  just  preceded  us  had  not  been  well  received,  and 
telegraph  reports  that  they  had  asked  our  government  to  send 
Mr.  Calhoun  home,  (this  being  a  political  and  not  a  commercial 
community),  we  were  sure  of  a  poor  reception  but  did  not  ex- 
pect this.  At  the  hotel  there  is  not  one  flag,  either  American  or 
Chinese  visible.  However,  the  Imperial  Railroad  provided 
a  special  train  on  the  Kalgan  Road  which  took  the  party 
to  see  the  great  wall  of  China,  and  also  provided  a  very  nice 
lunch,  all  without  charge.  I  just  learned  that  the  Hankow 
people  paid  all  our  hotel  bills  so  we  sent  them  $800  to  be  used 
by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  charitable  purposes.  The 
next  day  (Friday)  we  were  invited  to  see  the  Summer  Palace, 
twelve  miles  out.  This  was  a  rare  sight,  as  it  is  closed  to 
visitors.  The  grounds  cover  several  hundred  acres;  a  lake  is 
in  the  center  about  one-half  mile  long  by  one-quarter  mile 
wide.  A  very  fair  road  connects  Peking  with  this  palace  so 
we  drove  out  in  carriages.  The  grounds  have  been  laid  out 
and  built  regardless  of  expense.  Se\'eral  fine  bridges,  pagados 
and  all  kinds  and  descriptions  of  houses  and  rooms  for  an 
army  of  retainers  and  servants.  We  were  shown  the  private 
apartments  of  the  late  Empress  Dowager,  her  throne  and 
reception  rooms,  which  were  dift'erent  from  anything  we  had 
ever  seen  before.  The  painting  by  INIiss  Carrol  of  the  late 
Empress  has  been  veiled  since  her  death,  but  it  was  unveiled 
for  our  inspection.  Boats  were  provided  for  us  on  the  lake 
and  the  Barge  of  State  was  opened  for  us. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  39 

On  great  occasions  it  was  towed  around  the  lake  with 
steam  launches.  The  appearance  of  the  whole  surroundings 
is  that  of  an  exaggerated  fairy  land.  The  royal  family  had 
moved  into  the  Winter  Palace  a  short  time  ago.  To  give  you 
an  idea  of  what  the  Chinese  has  to  put  up  with  from  Euro- 
peans, when  we  got  to  the  gate  o\er  twenty  foreigners  were 
waiting  and  when  the  door  was  opened  they  forced  their  way 
in  amongst  our  party,  although  we  had  never  seen  them 
before.  Each  one  was  armed  with  a  kodak  and  when  in  the 
throne  room  a  boy  of  their  party  was  detected  by  one  of  the 
attendants  stealing  an  ornament,  we  requested  the  Chinese 
to  allow  our  party  to  go  alone,  so  that  we  could  not  be  blamed 
for  the  misdeeds  of  others.  We  returned  to  the  hotel  for 
luncheon  at  2  p.  m.,  a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles,  six  of 
which  are  through  the  city ;  from  the  city  gate  to  the  Palace  is 
six  miles,  over  a  good  macadamized  road,  each  side  being 
laid  with  flat  stones  of  about  six  feet  in  width. 

At  5  p.  m.  we  went  to  a  reception  at  the  Legation  given 
by  Minister  Calhoun  in  our  honor.  All  the  Americans  in 
the  vicinity  were  present.  At  8  o'clock  we  left  to  attend 
a  banquet  given  by  the  Press  Club  of  Peking,  foreign  and 
Chinese.  About  sixty  were  present.  A  feature  was  several 
vacant  chairs.  This  is  the  first  time  during  our  visit  to  China 
that  such  a  thing  had  occurred.  We  must  compliment  them, 
however,  for  having  one  American  flag  in  the  room,  the 
first  we  have  seen  in  Peking.  There  were  some  very  able 
addresses  and  Mr.  Field  spoke  for  our  party  in  a  carefully 
prepared  dignified  address.  The  affair  passed  off  pleasantly. 
Saturday,  9  a.  m.  we  are  due  at  the  Imperial  Palace  to  be 
received  by  the  Prince  Regent.  The  men  of  our  party  only 
being  invited.  We  were  unfortunate  in  our  visit  here  as 
being  purely  social  and  no  business  connected  with  it  at  all. 
So  our  time  to  a  great  extent  can  be  considered  as  lost. 


40  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 


AMERICAN    LEGATION 

Peking,  October  4,  19 10. 

Willis  H.  Booth,  Esquire, 

President  of  the  Commercial 

Commissioners,   Peking,  China. 

Sir :  I  beg  to  state  that  I  am  in  receipt  of  instructions 
from  the  American  Minister  to  transmit  to  you,  as  President 
of  the  Commercial  Commissioners  the  list  received  by  this 
legation  from  the  Chinese  Imperial  Board  of  Foreign  Affairs 
setting  forth  the  names  of  those  persons  who  will  be  present 
at  the  Imperial  Audience  to  be  held  at  half  past  nine  o'clock 
on  the  eighth  instant,  and  to  inform  you  of  those  directions 
which  have  been  made  by  the  said  Board,  both  orally  and  in 
writing,  for  the  guidance  of  the  said  persons  on  the  occasion 
of  the  Audience. 

Shortly  before  nine  o'clock  on  the  day  of  the  Audience 
the  American  Minister,  accompanied  only  by  the  Chinese 
Secretary  of  the  Legation,  will  proceed  to  the  Forbidden  City 
by  way  of  the  Grand  Hotel  des  Wagon  Lits,  where  he  will 
be  joined  by  the  Commercial  Commissioners  already  in  their 
carriages  waiting  his  arrival.  The  entire  party  will  then  take 
its  way  to  the  Eastern  Gate  of  the  Forbidden  City,  where  the 
carriages  will  be  left  and  whence  way  will  be  made  on  foot 
to  a  place  called  the  Shang  Sau  Yuan.  Here  the  Minister 
will  take  a  palace  chair  and  will  proceed,  accompanied  by  the 
rest  of  the  party  on  foot.  At  the  Ch'ien  Ch'ing  Gate  the 
Minister  will  alight  from  his  chair  and  the  party  will  proceed 
to  the  Upper  School  Room,  where  the  ]\Iinisters  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Affairs  will  be  in  waiting.  Here  the  party  will 
wait  until  half  past  nine,  when  it  will  be  conducted  by  the 
Ministers  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  Yang  Hsin 
Audience  Hall. 

It  may  here  be  noted  that  the  Yang  Hsin  Audience  Hall 
is  not  large  and  in  order  to  avoid  confusion  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Affairs  requests  that  a  pre-arranged  plan  of  pro- 
cedure be  carefully  observed,  that  is,  that  the  American 
Minister  shall  stand  a  few  feet  in  front  of  the  party,  accom- 


ROBERT  DOLLAR 


41 


panied  by  the  Chinese  Secretary,  who  will  act  as  his  inter- 
preter. Back  of  the  Minister  will  stand  the  President  of  the 
Commissioners,  with  the  first  and  second  vice-presidents  on 
his  right  and  left,  respectively.  Back  of  the  latter  the  Com- 
missioners will  take  their  places  in  two  rows  of  eleven  persons 
each.  It  is  recommended  by  the  Legation  that  a  plan  showing 
the  place  of  each  Commissioner  should  be  arranged  and 
published  beforehand,  and  that,  owing  to  the  narrowness  of 
the  passage  ways  between  the  Upper  School  Room  and  the 
Audience  Hall,  this  arrangement  be  observed  in  passing  from 
the  former  place  to  the  latter.  When  the  Audience  Hall  is 
reached  the  party  will  take  their  respective  places  as  described 
above  and  arranged  in  advance  and  will  await  the  entrance 
of  the  Prince  Regent. 

When  his  Imperial  Highness  enters  the  hall  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  party  will  bow  and  this  bow  will  be  returned  by  the 
Regent.  At  a  given  signal,  after  a  few  words  of  conversation 
have  been  exchanged  between  the  Prince  Regent  and  the 
American  Minister,  the  party  will  again  bow  to  the  Regent, 
who  will  return  the  bow  and  the  Audience  will  be  at  an  end. 
The  Minister  will  thereupon  retire  through  a  side  door,  to 
which  he  will  be  conducted  by  the  president  and  vice- 
presidents  of  the  Commissioners  and  finally  by  the  entire 
party  in  the  order  of  their  nearness  to  the  exit.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  retire  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  turn  the  back 
on  the  Prince  Regent,  who  will  remain  until  the  entire  party 
has  left  the  hall.  Each  person,  on  reaching  the  door,  will 
bow  to  the  Regent  and  take  his  departure.  It  is  usual  at 
Audiences,  also,  to  avoid  conversation  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
x\udience  Hall.  It  may  be  remarked  that  among  the  Chinese 
themselves  this  is  a  rule  enforced  with  the  utmost  severity. 

The  Audience  being  thus  concluded  the  party  will  return 
to  the  Upper  School  Room,  where  a  slight  collation  will  be 
served,  the  president  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Affairs,  the 
American  Minister  with  the  Chinese  Secretary,  and  the  presi- 
dent and  vice-presidents  of  the  Commissioners,  seating  them- 
selves at  one  table  and  the  remaining  Commissioners  and 
Chinese  officials  at  another. 

After  a  few  minutes  the  return  to  the  carriages  will  be 
made. 


42  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  express  the  hope  on  behalf  of  the 
American  Minister  that  you  will  transmit  as  much  of  the 
above  information  as  you  deem  necessary  to  the  Com- 
misioners  and  that  you  will  not  hesitate  to  command  my 
services  at  any  time  and  at  all  times  when  they  may  be  of  use 
to  you.     I  am,  Sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  Willys  B.  Vechs, 

Assistant  Chinese  Secretarv. 


NOTICE 

Tliose  members  of  the  Commission  who  are  to  attend  the 
Audience  with  His  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Prince  Regent, 
should  be  ready  to  leave  the  hotel,  and  should  be  in  their 
carriages  not  later  than  8:50  o'clock.  Full  evening  dress  must 
be  worn,  with  white  tie  and  white  gloves. 

When  the  party  leaves  the  carriages  to  march  to  the 
Audience  Hall,  they  should  fall  into  a  column  of  two  abreast, 
the  positions  being  determined  by  height.  The  positions  thus 
taken  must  be  followed  up  to  the  conclusion  of  the  Audience. 

The  invitation  extended  for  tiffin  at  noon  by  the  Foreign 
Office  does  not  include  the  ladies  of  the  party. 

List  of  persons  to  be  present  at  the  Imperial  Audience  of 
October  8,  19 10.     Enclosure  is  from  F.  O.,  No.  54. 

His   Excellency,   William"  J.   Calhoun,   American   Minister. 

Dr.   C.   D.   Tenney,   Chinese    Secretary. 

Willis  H.  Booth,  Esquire,  President  of  the  Commercial  Commission. 

William  Lewis  Gerstle,  Esquire,  Vice-President  of  the  Commercial 
Commission. 

C.  Herbert  Moore,  Esquire,  Second  Vice-President  of  the  Com- 
mercial Commission. 

E.  S.  Moulton,  Esquire,  E.  P.  Bosbyshell,  Esquire,  O.  M.  Clark, 
Esquire,  R.  M.  Hotaling,  Esquire,  Robert  Dollar,  Esquire,  Charles  K. 
Field,  Esquire,  Charles  V.  Bennett,  Esquire,  Cyril  H.  Tribe,  Esquire, 
Samuel  R.  Stern,  Esquire,  John  Henry  Shaw,  Esquire,  Eugene  A.  Young, 
Esquire,  W.  H.  Weilbye,  Esquire,  George  Burnham,  Esquire,  William 
Franklin  Knight,  Esquire,  L.  R.  Freeman,  Esquire,  Jacob  Furth,  Esquire, 
Elbert  F.  Blaine,  Esquire,  William  Piggott,  Esquire,  L.  R.  Manning, 
Esquire,  W.  H.  Dickson,  Esquire,  Charles  H.  Hyde,  Esquire,  F.  L. 
Waldron,    Esquire. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  43 

At  Peking — We  left  the  hotel  so  as  to  be  at  the  Palace 
at  9  a.  m.  Drove  in  carriages  into  the  Palace  court  as  near 
as  we  were  permitted  to  go,  and  after  passing  through  several 
gates  and  across  courtyards  we  came  to  the  reception  room, 
where  we  were  received  by  the  court  officials,  several  having 
conducted  us  from  the  carriages.  Wine  and  cake,  cigars, 
etc.,  were  served.  At  this  place  we  marched  two  abreast  to 
the  throne  room.  To  get  to  this  we  went  through  two  gates 
or  doors  and  across  courts  that  were  paved  with  large  flat 
stones.  The  throne  room  was  small.  The  throne  was  a  raised 
platform  with  a  large  chair.  The  room  was  about  twenty-four 
feet  square.  We  lined  up  in  front  of  the  platform.  Our 
Minister,  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  Dr.  Tenny  as  interpreter,  stood 
in  front  of  the  line  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  Prince  Regent 
came  in  by  a  door  leading  to  the  back  of  the  platform,  which 
was  closed  by  a  curtain.  One  attendant  opened  the  curtain 
for  His  Highness  to  enter,  the  other  followed  him,  one  stand- 
ing at  each  side  during  the  conference,  which  was  between 
our  Minister  and  the  Prince.  The  Prince  inquired  if  we  had 
been  well  received  and  if  we  were  pleased  with  our  visit.  Mr. 
Calhoun  explained  that  our  visit  was  strictly  on  business  and 
had  no  political  bearing;  that  we  were  just  ordinary  business 
men  from  the  Pacific  Coast  desiring  to  increase  the  trade  and 
commerce  between  the  two  nations  and  thereby  creating  a 
stronger  friendship  between  us.  The  xA.udience  lasted  about 
ten  minutes,  when  he  retired  as  he  came,  after  which  we  filed 
out.  We  learned  the  rule  was  that  we  must  not  turn  our 
backs  to  him,  hence  his  leaving  first.  There  were  twenty-four 
of  our  party  and  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Dr.  Tenny,  twenty-six  in 
all.  This  is  the  largest  number  that  has  ever  been  granted 
an  Audience,  and  the  first  time  that  ordinary  business  men 
have  ever  been  presented  to  the  Chinese  throne,  and  this  has 
caused  considerable  talk  in  diplomatic  circles  as  well  as  with 
foreign  merchants,  who  do  not  relish  the  reception  we  have 
been  given  everywhere  we  went.  We  returned  to  the  reception 
hall,  where  we  sat  down  to  a  luncheon  and  had  interesting- 
unofficial  talks  with  the  officials  on  various  subjects,  political 
and  commercial.  W'e  were  then  driven  to  the  Wai  Wu  Pu 
(Foreign  Office)  for  a  formal  luncheon.  W^e  were  received 
on   entering   by   the   various   Ministers    representing   various 


44  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

boards.  This  meeting  was  diplomatically  formal.  I  sat  along 
with  the  Minister  of  Communications  and  Mr.  Liang,  who 
really  runs  the  bureau.  Jeme  Ten  Yow,  China's  greatest  en- 
gineer, and  Loo  Etong,  the  general  manager  of  the  Imperial 
railways,  all  joined  in  a  two  hours'  interesting  talk  on  the 
railways  of  China,  a  subject  in  which  I  was  very  much  in- 
terested. The  speeches  were  short  and  the  commercial  value 
of  them  w'as  less.  The  President  welcomed  us  and  Mr.  Cal- 
houn replied  in  general  terms,  saying  as  little  as  possible. 
There  was  a  large  party  present,  about  150.  The  reception 
w'as  held  in  the  large  audience  room.  This  is  a  new  building, 
very  substantially  built,  foreign  in  style,  and  beautifully  fur- 
nished and  decorated. 

We  returned  to  the  hotel  and  got  ready  to  attend  a  re- 
ception given  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Calhoun  at  the  American 
Embassy,  at  which  all  the  American  colony  were  present.  In 
the  evening  at  the  Hotel  des  Wagon  Lits  we  were  given  a 
banquet  by  the  Provincial  Senate.  The  large  room  was 
crowded  to  its  utmost  seating  capacity,  was  beautifully 
decorated  with  flowers,  flags,  etc.  There  was  a  full  attend- 
ance of  the  members  of  the  Chamber  or  Senate  from  all  the 
different  provinces.  They  are  holding  their  first  session  and 
are  only  trying  to  get  it  into  shape  to  legislate.  As  we  under- 
stand it,  their  power  is  quite  limited,  beyond  getting  up  rules 
and  regulations  for  themselves  as  well  as  the  Provincial 
Assemblies.  I  tried  to  get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  what 
the  powers  of  each  are,  but  I  found  such  a  difference  of 
opinion  amongst  the  members  that  I  could  not  write  correctly 
on  the  subject.  Both  the  upper  and  lower  house  are  in  a 
formative  state  without  definite  rules  to  guide  them.  Unlike 
our  State  Legislature  that  has  a  Senate,  they  have  their 
provincial  capital  and  their  Senate  is  in  Peking  which  serves 
for  them  all  and  corresponds  to  our  plan  of  State  Legislatures 
without  the  State  Senate,  but  with  a  general  Senate  like  our 
Washington  Senate.  The  whole  is  patterned  more  after  the 
English  style  than  ours  and  would  also  take  some  of  our 
ideas  as  far  as  they  w^ould  suit  a  limited  monarchy. 

By  this  plan  the  State  Senate  and  our  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives are  eliminated.  The  powers  of  both  houses  will 
likely  be  defined  at  this  session.     Up  to  the  present  time  the 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  45 

Grand  Councilors  control  the  situation.  We  spent  a  very 
pleasant  evening  with  the  future  statesmen  of  China,  all 
anxious  to  know  as  much  as  possible  of  our  form  of  govern- 
ment. No  speeches  from  our  side  at  this  banquet  on  account 
of  a  difference  of  opinions  on  this  new  form  of  government 
amongst  the  Chinese. 

Sunday — We  did  our  best  to  keep  this  day  free,  but  the 
Chinese  would  not  have  it,  so  at  noon  we  were  invited  to  the 
Botanical  Gardens,  where  an  elaborate  luncheon  was  provided 
by  the  government  at  which  we  met  most  of  those  at  the  head 
of  the  various  departments.  Large  tables  were  placed  in  four 
rooms  and  there  must  have  been  200  present.  Only  formal, 
short,  congratulatory  speeches  were  delivered.  After  the 
luncheon  the  guests  were  taken  around  the  grounds  in  chairs 
and  rickshaws,  which  were  provided.  His  Excellency  Sheng 
Kung  Poa  requested  me  to  remain  behind  and  meet  the  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs,  Minister  of  Commerce  and  the 
Minister  of  Communications.  Our  talk  lasted  until  5  p.  m. 
The  conversation  was  general,  but  international  affairs  got 
their  fair  share  of  the  time.  The  importance  of  the  commercial 
relations  between  Sheng  and  myself  were  discussed  and  we 
received  favorable  comments.  Railroads  and  finance  were  also 
discussed. 

Sheng  Kung  Poa  is  in  Peking  endeavoring  to  plan  out 
and  put  into  operation  a  staple  currency.  This  is  a  great 
undertaking,  but  he  is  equal  to  the  task. 

I  got  back  to  the  hotel  in  time  to  get  ready  for  the  banquet 
given  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  The  floral  decorations 
were  probably  the  best  we  have  seen.  The  general  appearance 
of  the  room  was  gay  and  brilliantly  lighted  by  electricity, 
a  comparatively  new  thing  for  Peking.  The  Chinese  speeches 
were  good.  Mr.  Calhoun  and  one  of  our  members  (Mr. 
Moore)  replied  and  Mr.  Booth  gave  a  short  address.  There 
were  170  present.  It  was  a  very  enthusiastic  and  pleasant 
party. 

Tientsin — At  10  o'clock  the  next  morning,  we  left  Peking 
on  a  special  train  provided  by  the  government.  All  their  best 
carriages  were  used,  including  one  used  by  the  late  Empress 
Dowager.  At  Tientsin  we  were  received  by  both  the  officials 
and  merchants.     Carriages  were  provided  to  drive  us  to  the 


46  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

Astor  House,  where  the  entire  party  stayed.  The  afternoon 
was  spent  in  visiting  the  inckistrial  school,  manual  traininj^ 
school  and  commercial  museum.  The  manual  training  school 
was  most  interesting,  showing  what  is  being  done  with  young 
beggars  and  outcasts,  teaching  them  trades,  and  their  work 
pays  the  running  of  the  institution.  At  6 130  p.  m.  we  were 
driven  to  the  Viceroy's  yamen,  where  an  elaborate  banquet  was 
prepared  for  us.  This  was  a  very  swell  affair.  The  room 
easily  accommodated  the  200  guests.  It  was  one  story,  the 
ceiling  being  over  thirty  feet  high  and  rooms  with  raised  floors 
four  feet  high  opened  to  the  main  hall  and  about  forty  feet 
wide,  surrounded  the  hall  on  three  sides,  all  beautifully  fur- 
nished, Brussels  carpets  and  Chinese  decorations  blending  old 
and  New  China.  As  the  Viceroy  of  Chili  Province  is  the  rank- 
ing Viceroy  he  is  the  most  important  personage  we  met  outside 
of  Peking.  Li  Hung  Chang  and  Yuen  Shi  Kai  both  occupied 
his  place,  two  of  the  most  distinguished  of  China's  great  men. 
As  we  drove  into  the  court  great  numbers  of  soldiers  lined 
the  way  and  presented  arms.  A  military  brass  band  was  in 
atendance,  making  it  a  very  grand  affair.  The  banquet  hall 
was  gaily  decorated  with  flags  and  flowers.  The  dinner  took 
three  hours  to  serve,  as  is  usual  with  great  Chinese  dinners. 
The  Chinese  speeches  were  congratulatory  and  of  welcome. 
Nothing  of  any  importance  or  significance  in  any  of  them. 
The  speeches  of  late  lack  individuality  and  the  saying  of 
something  of  importance  that  would  be  of  value  for  furthering 
the  object  of  our  visit;  in  fact,  they  only  say  pleasant  com- 
pliments and  forget  or  neglect  the  prime  object  of  our  visit 
to  promote  trade  and  commerce.  It  was  after  midnight  when 
we  got  home. 

Tuesday,  October  11,  visited  the  university  and  at  noon 
got  to  Li  Hung  Chang's  memorial  hall,  where  luncheon  was 
served  by  the  Taotai  officials  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
There  were  short  addresses.  Mr.  Stern  spoke  on  constitutional 
government,  which  was  impossible  to  translate,  so  to  a  great 
extent  it  was  lost  in  the  translation.  Afternoon  some  of  us 
met  a  committee  of  merchants  and  discussed  trade  possibilities. 
This  evening  Mr.  Sun  gave  us  a  banquet,  at  which  a  great 
number  were  present.  One  feature  of  this  function  was  the 
illumination  of  the  grounds.     Different  colored  incandescent 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  47 

lights  were  placed  in  rows  about  two  feet  apart  on  each  side 
of  all  the  walks,  giving  it  a  brilliant  appearance.  I  noticed 
the  government  had  given  him  quite  a  number  of  soldiers  as  a 
guard  of  honor  besides  one  of  their  bands.  There  being  no 
rcx>m  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  guests,  round  tables 
for  eight  were  placed  in  three  large  rooms.  Mr.  O.  AI.  Clark 
made  the  speech  for  the  Commission  on  the  Industries  of  the 
Pacific  Northwest,  showing  its  importance  as  a  center  of 
commerce,  dwelling  particularly  on  the  lumber  trade.  Being 
tired  out  we  left  at  1 1  p.  m.,  before  it  was  over. 

Wednesday  we  left  on  a  special  train  at  8  a.  m.  and 
visited  the  Tongshan  coal  mine  belonging  to  the  Chinese 
Engineering  and  Mining  Company.  This  is  a  modern,  up- 
to-date,  well  equipped  mine  of  soft  coal.  They  are  making 
coke  in  old-fashioned  open  Chinese  ovens.  The  product  seemed 
to  be  all  right.  Large  pieces  and  solid,  but  about  fifteen  per 
cent  of  ash.  Their  production  by  this  process  is  only  six 
hundred  tons  a  month,  so  to  do  an  export  business  they  would 
have  to  put  in  modern  coke  ovens.  The  railway  company 
furnished  us  a  very  good  lunch  in  a  building  fitted  up  for  the 
purpose  at  their  Tongshan  shops.  His  Excellency  Loo  Etong, 
managing  director,  gave  us  a  very  interesting  and  instructive 
talk  on  the  early  history  of  the  Tongshan,  which  in  reality  is 
the  early  history  of  the  Imperial  Railway  of  China.  When  the 
first  six  miles  of  road  was  built  from  the  mines  to  a  canal  dug 
by  the  intrepid  Tung  Yuen,  like  many  other  great  promoters 
of  industry,  he  was  ahead  of  his  time  and  lost  his  large 
fortune  in  the  pioneer  work,  which  went  to  the  benefit  of  the 
farseeing  British  investors,  who  ask  £1,800,000  for  the 
property.  The  Chinese  government  have  offered  £1,750,000, 
so  it  is  likely  the  government  will  become  the  owner  when  it 
will  consolidate  with  the  Lanchow  mines,  which  the  govern- 
ment are  just  developing  and  where  they  have  installed  a 
modern  plant  of  the  most  up-to-date  machinery,  but  for  a 
new  mine  not  producing  coal  for  the  market  it  looks  as  if 
half  of  the  equipment  would  have  been  sufficient.  However, 
if  they  find  plenty  of  coal  it  will  all  come  in.  In  all  the  shops 
and  mines  there  is  not  a  piece  of  American  machinery;  it  is 
nearly  all  Belgian.  There  can  be  no  question  but  Americans 
could  have  got  a  share  of  this  had  they  wanted  it.    They  have 


48  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

installed  great  electrical  plants  and  it  is  conceded  that  the 
American  installation  is  the  best,  so  it  would  only  have  re- 
quired a  good,  practical  man  on  the  spot  to  have  gotten  all 
this  business.  This  absence  of  American  enterprise  I  noticed 
had  a  depressing  effect  on  our  party,  seeing  that  at  an  even 
price  we  are  assured  Americans  would  get  the  preference. 
We  visited  the  large  cement  factory  nearby,  also  run  by  a 
Chinese  company.  They  have  buildings  under  construction 
that  will  double  the  capacity  of  their  plant.  This  plant  is  only 
two  years  old  and  is  also  fitted  up  entirely  with  Belgian 
machinery  which  seems  to  be  of  the  very  best  patterns  as  well 
as  manufacture.  The  same  remarks  about  the  other  machinery 
would  apply  to  this  great  establishment.  At  the  present  time 
this  district  vies  with  Hankow  as  the  great  industrial  center 
of  China.  This,  however,  has  an  eighty-mile  rail  haul  either 
to  Tongku  or  Chinwantow.  This  latter  port  must  be  deepened 
and  extended,  then  with  new  energy  it  should  become  one  of 
the  great  ports  of  China.  At  present  a  steamer  might  load 
to  twenty-two  feet,  but  this  can  only  be  done  by  working  her 
at  high  water,  and  as  the  bottom  is  soft  and  easily  dredged 
it  is  not  a  serious  matter,  as  without  doubt  the  government 
will  purchase  it  from  the  present  owners,  the  Chinese  En- 
gineering and  Mining  Company. 

As  this  i>ort  goes  with  the  sale  of  mines,  steamers,  etc. 
and  as  it  is  the  only  ice  free  port  on  the  north  side  of  the  gulf 
of  Pichili,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  the  Chinese  government ; 
in  fact,  to  all  people  doing  business  in  the  north.  As  to  the 
future  prospects  of  this  district,  with  an  account  of  the  pioneer 
work  that  has  been  done,  it  is  not  difficult  to  predict  a  great 
future.  Iron  has  been  found  eight  miles  from  the  coal  mines. 
Unfortunately  I  did  not  have  time  to  go  and  see  it.  A  little 
development  has  been  done,  but  not  enough  to  demonstrate 
either  the  extent  or  value,  and  as  I  understand  it,  it  is  all 
surface  work  that  has  been  done.  But  if  large  deposits  of  iron 
ore  can  be  found  in  such  close  proximity  to  the  great  coal 
fields  of  North  China  and  good  coking  coal  right  on  the  spot, 
it  don't  take  a  prophet  to  tell  what  will  happen  in  the  near 
future.  And  right  here  we  can  expect  an  industry  to  spring  up 
that  will  rival  Hankow,  but  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  all. 
The  conditions  are  ideal  for  development,  as  unlike  moun- 


THE  OLD  PALACE  AT  KYOTO,  JAPAN 

The  Seat  of  Government  of  Japan  when  Admiral  Perry 

Opened  the  Ports  of  that  Country  to  the 

Commerce  of  the  W'orld 


The  Mayor  of  Kyoto  and  Wife  escorthig  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dollar 
and  Friend.s  tlirough  their  Garden 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  49 

tainoiis  mining  districts,  this  country  is  perfectly  level  and 
railroads  can  be  built  at  the  minimum  of  cost  and  also  of 
operation.  This  by  all  odds  has  been  the  most  interesting 
sight  our  Commissioners  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  see  in 
China.  A  district  that  with  capital  and  energy  will  stand 
out  prominently  over  other  places  in  North  China. 

We  returned  on  the  special  train  to  Tientsin  arriving  at 
8  p.  m.  My  business  friend  had  a  private  dinner  ready  for 
us  on  arrival.  The  party  consisted  of  those  interested  in 
business  only,  with  six  Chinese  ladies  and  Mrs.  Dollar.  We 
had  a  very  pleasant  time  and  at  midnight  we  went  on  board 
the  steamer  Hsing  Ming.  I  forgot  to  say  that  various  coal 
mines  have  a  capacity  of  about  6000  tons  a  day,  but  they  are 
not  doing  this  yet,  and  the  cement  factory,  when  completed, 
will  produce  2500  barrels  a  day. 

Chefoo — At  this  city  great  preparations  were  made  to 
receive  us.  Two  Chinese  cruisers  were  bedecked  with  flags 
and  launches  were  covered  with  flags.  At  the  landing  ever- 
greens and  flags  were  in  evidence.  A  long  double  row  of 
soldiers  presented  arms  as  we  drove  through  them  in  rickshaws 
to  the  hotel,  where  a  very  fine  arch  of  evergreens  was  erected 
across  the  street  and  lots  of  flags  everywhere.  All  of  which 
convinced  us  that  the  people  of  Chefoo  were  in  dead  earnest 
in  welcoming  us.  We  had  a  conference  with  the  business  men 
lasting  most  of  the  afternoon.  All  matters  of  commercial 
interest  to  both  of  us  were  discussed.  We  found  trade  had 
fallen  off  and  our  share  of  it  had  decreased  more  than  that  of 
other  nations.  And  without  railway  communication  to  the 
interior  the  general  trade  will  decrease  more,  as  the  Germans 
from  Tientsin  through  their  railway  communication  are  cut- 
ting into  this  trade,  so  that  the  Tsingtau  trade  is  increasing 
very  fast.  At  5  p.  m.  we  had  a  very  friendly  and  sociable 
affair.  I  was  very  sorry  to  learn  that  Mr.  Fowler,  the  Consul, 
had  become  quite  deaf.  At  7  p.  m.  they  gave  us  a  banquet. 
The  room  w^as  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers  and  we  had 
a  very  pleasant  time.  A  few  short  addresses  were  made,  and 
Mr.  Booth  made  the  best  speech  he  has  made  yet.  It  was 
good  and  to  the  point,  and  said  things  and  gave  ideas  prin- 
cipally as  to  how  the  Chinese  can  increase  their  trade  and 
how  ours  can  be  increased.     Great  crowds  lined  the  streets 


50  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

and  wharfs  to  see  us  off  at  1 1  p.  m  When  we  sailed  for  Foo 
Chow  we  were  especially  favored  by  fine  weather. 

Sunday  afternoon  we  had  a  religious  service,  which  was 
unique,  as  no  one  was  capable  of  conducting  it.  Mr.  Booth 
gave  the  subjects,  I  read  the  One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Psalm, 
Mr.  Burnham  gave  an  excellent  recitation  on  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  Several  hymns  were  sung,  including  "America." 
For  a  service  of  the  kind  it  was  good. 

Foochow — We  were  due  in  the  morning  at  this  place,  but 
did  not  arrive  at  the  pilot  station  until  i  p.  m.,  Monday  and 
at  Pagoda  anchorage  at  4  p.  m.,  where  house  boats  and  tugs 
were  waiting  with  a  reception  committee  since  early  morning. 
The  tide  was  low  and  when  we  got  half  way  up  the  ten  miles 
from  Pagoda  to  Foochow  the  tugs  got  aground,  but  each  house 
boat  or  junk  had  a  big  spread  of  sails,  so  we  made  all  sail 
and  with  a  good  breeze  excellent  time  was  made ;  but  the  wind 
suddenly  died  out  so  we  all  came  to  a  stop.  The  tugs  got 
over  the  shallow  place  and  picked  us  up  again,  but  in 
a  short  time  they  got  aground  again,  leaving  us  to  our  own 
resources.  All  this  was  exasperating,  as  a  banquet  was  pre- 
pared for  us  at  7  p.  m.  and  the  Viceroy  and  officials  as  well  as 
merchants  were  all  waiting  for  us,  but  by  perseverence  we 
reached  the  banquet  at  10  p.  m.  The  streets  were  all  lined 
with  people,  just  barely  space  enough  to  get  through  in  the 
chairs  that  were  provided  for  us  One  feature  was,  small 
school  children,  all  dressed  in  white,  each  one  having  an 
American  and  Chinese  flag,  alternately,  and  when  the  banquet 
was  over  at  i  a.  m.  we  were  astounded  to  find  the  children 
still  lined  up  to  see  us  pass  out  to  the  various  private  houses 
to  which  we  had  been  assigned  and  where  the  good  kind 
people  made  us  as  comfortable  as  if  we  had  been  at  home, 
there  being  no  European  hotel  at  Foochow.  At  the  banquet 
there  were  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  present,  presided  over 
by  the  Viceroy,  Sung,  of  Fukien  and  Chekiang  provinces.  The 
Tartar  General  Pu  was  an  innovation  at  the  table.  It  appears 
the  Prince  Regent  was  not  very  sure  of  the  loyalty  of  the 
people  and  sent  the  Tartar  general,  who  is  said  to  be  over  the 
Viceroy.  There  were  a  lot  of  officials,  some  merchants  and 
some  from  the  Provincial  Assembly.  We  found  the  latter 
always  glad  to  get  ideas  from  us,  as  their  Legislature  is  in  its 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  5 1 

formative  state  and  many  perplexing  questions  arise.  I  find 
that  in  this  city,  hke  all  other  important  cities,  there  is  a 
Japanese  daily  newspaper  printed  in  Chinese,  moulding  the 
minds  of  the  people  their  way.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
they  do  not  pay,  but  some  one  foots  the  bill.  The  only  two 
steamers  (ocean  going)  that  were  at  anchorage  was  a  Japanese 
and  a  British.  The  Japanese  traders  and  especially  their 
steamers,  are  to  be  found  in  every  port.  They  look  on  their 
merchant  marine  as  indispensable  to  their  trade.  Without 
it  their  trade  expansion  would  have  been  impossible.  Our 
wise  Congressmen  think  otherwise,  therefore  our  ships  in  the 
foreign  trade  are  no  more.  As  usual  in  Chinese  rivers,  the 
Min  river  is  full  of  boats,  junks  and  crafts  of  all  kinds.  We 
saw  many  rafts  of  poles  coming  down  the  river.  I  learned 
the  poles  take  about  fifteen  years  to  grow  and  there  is  continual 
reforestation  going  on  and  the  crop  is  not  cut  faster  than  they 
grow,  but  the  reason  of  their  small  size  is  that  they  can't  afford 
to  let  them  grow  bigger.  They  are  all  carried  out  of  the  woods 
to  the  river  on  men's  shoulders,  where  they  are  made  into  large 
rafts  and  floated  to  Pagoda  anchorage.  From  a  distance  of 
fifty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  the  interior  they  are 
loaded  in  junks  and  shipped  to  all  Chinese  ports  and  go  by 
the  name  of  Foochow  poles.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the 
volume  of  this  trade,  but  it  must  run  into  the  hundred  millions 
a  year.  The  competition  from  this  commodity  is  severely  felt 
by  the  Pacific  Coast  fir.  Going  up  the  Min  river  from  the 
ocean  to  Foochow,  something  over  thirty  miles,  is  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  sails  in  China  and  was  very  much  appreciated 
by  our  party. 

Amoy — We  arrived  early  in  the  morning  and  after  the 
reception  committee  came  on  board  they  escorted  us  ashore, 
where  a  number  of  Chinese  merchants  at  the  landing  escorted 
us  to  the  Bank  of  Communication,  where  refreshments  were 
served  and  an  informal  reception  was  had.  We  were  next 
conducted  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  where  we  were 
formally  introduced  to  a  great  number  of  the  members  and 
they  also  had  a  spread  of  good  things  to  eat  and  drink.  We 
then  went  back  to  the  river.  xA.long  the  streets  great  crowds 
were  lined  up  to  see  us  pass.  We  got  on  the  tug  and  went  to 
the  outside  limits  of  the  harbor  and  one-quarter  mile  on  land 


52  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

to  the  Xan  Puto  temple,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  in  China, 
rebuilt  about  forty  years  ago.  A  luncheon  was  served  by 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  which  Taotai  Kno  and  Major- 
General  Hung  participated.  A  feature  at  this  function  was  a 
number  of  retired  Chinese  merchants  from  the  Philippine 
Islands.  One  man  had  lived  in  ^Manila  fifty  years.  So  great 
is  the  intercourse  that  they  now  have  two  steamers  running 
between  Amoy  and  ]\Ianila.  This  is  the  first  city  that  the 
immigration  question  was  brought  publicly  to  our  notice.  They 
claim,  like  San  Francisco,  they  are  suffering  from  the  mal- 
administration of  the  law.  It  was  temporarily  passed  over  by 
the  statement  that  the  Commission  was  going  to  Manila  and 
would  investigate.  No  doubt  this  was  only  a  commencement 
of  what  we  would  get  in  Canton.  At  the  temple  we  made  an 
attempt  to  get  the  merchants  to  meet  our  Committee  on  trade 
and  commerce,  but  this  proved  a  failure  for  want  of  time,  so 
once  more  opportunity  was  lost  to  accomplish  the  primary 
object  of  our  visit.  We  went  to  the  American  Consulate  and 
to  where  the  ladies  were  having  tea  at  a  tennis  court.  They 
had  not  been  with  us  during  the  day.  We  then  went  on  board 
the  steamer  and  sailed  at  6  p.  m.  for  Hong  Kong.  An  in- 
scription was  cut  in  the  rock  at  the  temple  commemorating  the 
visit  of  the  American  battleship  fleet.  A  place  alongside  of  it 
had  been  prepared  to  commemorate  our  visit  so  future  genera- 
tions will  know  we  visited  Amoy. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR 


CANTON 


53 


WE  arrived  in  Hong  Kong  at  5  o'clock  and  remained  all 
night,  sailing  on  the  "On  Lee"  at  1 1  a.  m.  for  Canton 
arriving  there  at  7  p.  m.  We  landed  at  the  Admiralty  Build- 
ing, which  has  just  been  completed.  It  is  a  very  large,  fine, 
modern  structure  for  headcjuarter?  of  the  navy  of  South 
China.  Fifteen  miles  from  Canton  we  were  met  by  a  gunboat, 
the  captain  bringing  the  message  from  the  Admiral  giving  us 
the  freedom  of  the  port  and  welcoming  us  to  Canton.  This 
gunboat  convoyed  us  to  Canton.  On  nearing  the  city  we  could 
see  the  illuminations,  and  as  we  got  close  enough  we  found  it 
to  be  the  finest  of  the  many  good  illuminations  we  have  had  in 
China.  Both  electricity  and  lanterns  were  in  evidence.  On 
landing  a  great  many  troops  were  drawn  up  in  lines  on  both 
sides  and  when  we  marched  through  they  presented  arms  and 
the  bands  struck  up  American  tunes.  It  is  very  difficult  to  say, 
but  this  display  probably  exceeded  all  others,  that  is,  outside. 
Inside,  the  decorations  were  also  very  fine.  We  were  met 
by  the  representative  of  the  Viceroy,  who  unfortunately  was 
sick  and  unable  to  meet  us.  The  Tartar  General  Admiral  Li, 
Taotais  and  representatives  of  the  Chambers  of  Commerce 
were  all  in  line  to  receive  us,  so  our  arrival  and  reception  here 
made  us  feel  at  ease,  as  on  account  of  immigration  and  boycott 
troubles  we  felt  a  little  anxious.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty 
sat  down  to  the  banquet.  Congratulatory  (short)  addresses 
only  were  delivered.  Two  gunboats  took  us  to  the  hotel  on 
the  Shameen,  where  we  arrived  shortly  after  midnight,  the 
weather  being  much  warmer  here. 

Saturday,  October  22 — Left  hotel  at  9  a.  m.,  visited  the 
temple  of  Five  Hundred  Genii,  where  Marco  Polo  has  a  very 
prominent  seat.  We  arrived  at  the  ancestral  temple  of  the  Chan 
family  at  1 1  o'clock ;  had  a  two-hour  conference  with  Canton 
merchants  and  at  one,  luncheon  was  served  in  the  large  hall, 
which  was  beautifully  decorated  for  the  occasion.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  temples  in  China,  and  with  added 
decorations  it  made  it  one  of  the  grandest  sights  we  have  seen 


54  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

on  our  trip.  Mr.  Waldron  of  Honolulu  replied  to  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  address  of  welcome,  and  I  gave  an  address  on 
the  question  that  most  interested  the  Cantonese,  namely, 
"Immigration  Into  Our  Country." 

Ng  Poon  Chew  of  San  Francisco  interpreted  it  in  his 
usual  able  manner,  which  brought  forth  great  applause  from 
the  Chinese  audience.  On  account  of  the  size  of  the  hall  and 
the  great  height  of  the  roof  it  was  very  difficult  to  speak,  but 
I  got  the  audience  to  gather  close  around  and  all  heard  very 
distinctly,  as  it  was  considered  very  important  that  there 
should  be  no  misunderstanding  as  to  what  I  said,  particularly 
as  we  all  felt  this  was  the  most  important  address  of  our 
trip  and  on  it  would  depend  whether  we  would  be  able 
effectually  to  dispose  of  this  subject,  on  w^hich  there  has  been 
so  much  difference  of  opinion.  From  what  we  could  learn 
from  the  Chinese  they  were  quite  satisfied  with  my  explanation 
and  it  had  the  effect  of  oil  on  troubled  waters.  The  members 
of  our  Commission  generally  were  satisfied  also,  and  the  matter 
was  disposed  of  and  not  brought  up  again.  So  we  gave  a  sigh 
of  relief  to  know  that  we  had  accomplished  in  Canton  as  well 
as  all  other  places  we  visited  a  better  feeling  of  friendship 
and  good  will. 

Speech  of  Robert  Dollar 

This  is  the  question  of  questions  before  the  Chinese  and 
American  people.  It  is  many  sided  and  has  its  rights  and  its 
wrongs  on  both  sides.  As  to  the  Treaty  itself,  which  is  the 
foundation  of  the  relations  between  the  two  countries,  (talk- 
ing from  the  American  side),  we  have  this  to  say,  that  inas- 
much as  it  will  be  up  for  revision  in  a  short  time  between  our 
two  governments,  and  seeing  that  at  that  time  it  will  be  left 
to  the  diplomats  of  both  nations  to  decide  what  is  the  best  for 
both  countries,  we  are  quite  willing  to  leave  the  entire  matter 
in  the  hands  of  the  distinguished  Chinese  and  Americans  who 
will  be  chosen  by  our  respective  governments  to  make  a  just 
and  suitable  settlement  of  all  the  points  at  issue.  Therefore  we 
think  it  would  be  out  of  place  at  the  present  time  to  discuss  this 
side  of  the  question. 

As  to  the  treatment  of  the  Chinese  in  San  Francisco  who 
are  entitled  to  land,  this  matter  has  not  been  neglected  or 
ignored  by  our  people.    Three  months  ago  a  committee  of  fair 


,    G 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  55 

minded  men  were  appointed,  three  by  the  Merchants'  Ex- 
change, and  three  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  a  full 
investigation  was  made.  I  devoted  a  week  of  my  time  to  this 
work,  being  Chairman  of  the  Committee.  I  felt  in  undertaking 
this  work,  that  the  Chinese  were  not  being  properly  treated. 
I  cannot  do  better  than  read  my  report  of  the  Committee,  a 
copy  of  which  was  sent  to  the  Commissioner  of  Immigration, 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  to  President  Taft. 

REPORT    ON    IMMIGRATION 

*'We  interviewed  the  Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the 
Six  Companies,  Chinese  daily  newspapers,  and  many  Chinese 
merchants,  and  on  the  other  side  we  had  conferences  with 
H.  North,  Commissioner  of  Immigration,  and  several  of  the 
Immigration  officials,  and  finally  we  spent  a  day  meeting  the 
Chiyo  Maru  and  another  steamer  to  see  what  reception  the 
Chinese  passengers  received,  then  followed  them  to  the  station 
at  Angel  Island  where  we  saw  them  examined ;  and,  through 
the  courtesy  of  the  officials,  were  shown  through  the  entire 
buildings  and  plant,  and  were  given  every  facility  to  see  the 
treatment  of  the  Chinese  in  every  stage  of  the  examinations, 
and  the  manner  of  their  treatment  before  and  after  deportation. 
After  impartial  consideration  on  both  sides  of  the  question, 
we  find  that  cause  for  complaint  exists  to  some  extent,  but  on 
the  whole  this  has  been  exaggerated. 

"We  found  the  examinations  to  be  unreasonably  severe, 
and  to  answer  the  questions  correctly,  was  an  impossibility,  as 
the  applicants  have  to  prove  their  own  case.  Whereas,  in 
criminal  cases  the  accused  is  considered  innocent  until  he  is 
proven  guilty,  here  he  is  considered  guilty  until  he  proves  him- 
self to  be  entitled  to  land;  and  evidence,  if  taken  literally  and 
compared  with  the  witnesses,  would  be  sufficient  to  exclude 
every  man,  woman  and  child  from  landing.  For  instance,  the 
eight  or  ten  year  old  son  of  a  merchant  is  asked  his  grand- 
mother's maiden  name,  on  both  his  father's  and  mother's  side, 
the  names  of  people  living  a  block  or  two  distant,  their 
children's  names,  ages,  etc.  Then  the  father  who  has  not  been 
home  for  years  is  asked  to  corroborate  his  son's  statement, 
which  is  simply  impossible. 

"We  find  those  attempting  to  land  have  great  difficulty  in 
getting  witnesses  to  go  to  the  station  to  testify.     One  young 


56  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

man,  a  native  son,  had  been  waiting  two  weeks.  The  wit- 
nesses arrived  when  we  were  there,  and  he  would  have  no 
trouble  in  landing.  This  refers  only  to  those  witnesses  who 
live  around  the  bay.  but  many  arrive  whose  witnesses  live  in 
distant  States,  the  papers  have  been  forwarded  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  bureau  nearest  where  the  witness  lives,  and 
in  the  event  of  change  of  residence  or  pressure  of  business  of 
the  official,  it  makes  it  a  very  long  and  tedious  wait.  The 
system  of  examining  the  witness  is  so  complicated,  that  it 
seemed  to  us  to  be  impossible  for  any  person  to  enter  who  is 
not  entitled  to. 

"The  buildings,  manner  of  caring  for  and  feeding  the 
immigrants,  etc.,  are  all  that  could  be  desired,  and  in  justice 
to  those  in  charge,  we  congratulate  them  on  the  conditions  as 
we  found  them. 

"We  were  informed  that  those  arriving  in  the  first  class 
cabin,  had  their  examination  commence  at  Meigg's  wharf,  and 
was  completed  as  soon  as  possible,  so  that  they  had  no  delay 
in  landing,  and  not  one  in  a  hundred  was  detained.  The 
Chinese  have  furnished  us  with  details  of  forty-five  cases,  all 
during  1910.  Some  of  them  look  bad  for  the  officials,  but  as 
we  only  secured  the  Chinese  version  and  not  the  inspectors*, 
we  think  it  unfair  to  comment  upon  them,  and  for  the  sake 
of  commercial  good-will  and  justice,  we  think  the  government 
should  investigate. 

"If  they  desire  it.  we  would  give  them  the  numbers  of  the 
cases,  and  in  the  meantime  our  consuls  should  be  requested  to 
allay  the  irritation  in  China,  assuring  merchants  and  students 
who  are  entitled  to  land  that  they  will  be  allowed  to  land 
without  any  indignities  being  offered  them,  and  that  the 
departments  see  to  it  that  their  instructions  are  carried  out, 
not  in  letter  only,  but  in  spirit.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  a 
large  number  of  our  most  influential  merchants  leave  this 
Coast  to  visit  China  next  month,  we  consider  the  foregoing 
important.  We  ask  justice  and  a  square  deal  for  those  who 
are  entitled  to  land,  the  same  treatment  they  give  us  in  landing 
in  China. 

"We  oft'er  the  following  recommendations : 

"i.  That  a  more  reasonable  and  rational  method  of 
questioning  be  adopted. 

"2.  That  all  witnesses,  white  or  Chinese,  who  live  in  San 
Francisco  or  neighboring  towns,  be  examined  in  San  Francisco, 
as  a  witness  who  has  no  particular  interest  in  the  person  might 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  57 

go  to  San  Francisco  to  testify,  but  would  refuse  to  go  to  the 
island,  especially  as  it  often  happens  that  the  case  would  not 
be  reached  the  first  day  the  witness  went,  thereby  necessitating 
two  or  more  trips. 

"3.  That  examinations  be  expedited  by  sending  for  wit- 
nesses, as  the  party  being  locked  up  has  not  the  means  for 
getting  them." 

I  think  that  the  Chinese  should  be  examined  in  Canton  or 
Shanghai  by  the  Taotai  and  a  proper  American  government 
official,  whose  certificate  shall  be  final  and  any  person  having 
that  certificate  should  be  allowed  to  land  without  further 
examination.  I  cannot,  however,  caution  you  too  strongly  to 
have  your  government  officials  see  to  it  that  no  fraud  is 
perpetrated  as  the  fraudulent  certificates  issued  some  years 
ago  by  corrupt  Chinese  officials  and  certified  to  by  mercenary 
American  consuls,  who,  along  with  their  interpreters,  got 
suddenly  rich,  was  what  caused  all  of  the  trouble.  On  my 
visit  to  Angel  Island  I  saw  several  Chinese  women  that  had 
been  brought  over  by  their  owners  for  immoral  purposes. 
They  were  caught  and  ordered  deported.  No  doubt  they  were 
brought  from  China  by  the  connivance  of  some  of  our  officials, 
who  would  get  a  certain  amount  if  they  landed.  It  has 
become  a  notorious  fact  that  merchants'  wives  have  great 
trouble  landing,  while  women  of  the  other  class  have  in  too 
many  cases  no  trouble  in  getting  ashore.  The  Chinese  can 
have  no  complaint  of  the  exclusion  of  this  class  as  our  laws 
prohibit  their  importation  from  any  country.  On  my  visit  to 
Angel  Island  I  saw  a  white  woman  amongst  the  Chinese  who 
had  also  been  ordered  deported.  In  the  case  of  bona  fide 
students,  for  some  time,  none  have  been  refused  admittance. 
Many  are  going  from  Shanghai  and  there  has  been  no  trouble. 
The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  there  writes  to  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  San  Francisco,  and  a  Chinese  representative 
goes  to  meet  them  on  board  the  steamer,  and  gives  them  all 
the  assistance  they  may  require.  This  information  is  not 
hearsay,  as  I  have  given  it  my  personal  attention. 

In  conclusion,  I  earnestly  ask  you  to  stop  the  fraud  at  your 
end,  and  we  request  that  you  see  to  it  that  only  those  who  are 
entitled  to  land  shall  be  permitted  to  leave  this  country.  The 
Japanese  government  has  attended  to  this  in  their  case,  so  that 
all  trouble  and  friction  has  ceased.  I  assure  you  that  we  will 
do  our  best  to  stop  the  fraud  at  our  end  and  we  will  do  our 


58  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

utmost  to  see  that  any  Chinese  who  is  entitled  to  land  shall 

be  landed  without  delay  or  any  indignities  being  offered  to 
him. 


After  luncheon  chairs  conveyed  us  to  the  terminus  of  the 
Hankow-Canton  Railroad,  where  we  were  ferried  over  the 
river  to  the  terminus  of  the  Fatshan  Railroad  at  Shek  Wai 
Tong,  where  a  special  train  was  waiting  to  convey  us  to 
Fatshan,  the  terminus  of  the  road.  The  cars  and  all  the 
stations  were  decorated,  firecrackers  were  set  off  at  all  of  the 
stations  as  we  passed,  and  at  Fatshan  a  building  had  been 
erected  and  neatly  ornamented  specially  for  us  to  take  tea  in. 
For  such  a  short  visit  it  looks  incredible  that  they  should  have 
expended  so  much  money.  The  crowd  was  very  great  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  the  soldiers  were  able  to  keep  the  way  clear 
for  us.  The  locomotive  had  to  go  very  slowly  in  leaving,  to 
avoid  running  over  people.  We  got  back  to  the  hotel  at  7 
p.  m.  A  gunboat  was  sent  to  bring  us  from  the  railway  to 
the  Shameen.  I  forgot  to  write  of  the  fireworks  the  first  night 
of  our  arrival.  A  tower  of  bamboo  poles  about  one  hundred 
feet  high  had  been  erected  from  which  they  were  set  off.  They 
had  some  pieces  which  were  the  best  we  had  ever  seen. 

Sunday,  Admiral  Li,  his  wife  and  the  Tartar  General's  wife 
gave  a  special  reception  and  tea  to  our  ladies.  This  was  unique 
as  it  had  never  been  done  before.  The  men  were  also  invited 
to  meet  the  officials,  but  there  w'as  no  mixing  of  the  men  and 
women.  This  would  have  been  too  radical.  However,  we 
w^ere  glad  of  even  this  break  in  Chinese  old-time  etiquette  that 
the  highest  class  ladies  would  meet  the  ladies  of  our  party. 
Two  of  them  wore  the  Manchu  he^d-dress.  which  showed  up 
conspicuously  over  the  Chinese  ladies'  head-dress. 

Sunday  evening  we  attended  church  at  the  Medical  College. 
A  small  room,  but  packed  full  of  Europeans;  had  an  English 
service;  the  singing  of  the  hymns  was  very  good.  After  the 
service  we  took  dinner  at  Dr.  Todd's  house,  where  we  met 
some  of  the  missionaries,  amongst  them  Miss  Noyes,  who  has 
worked  here  over  forty-two  years  in  educational  work.  At 
the  boarding  school  in  this  compound  were  two  hundred  and 
sixty  girls  from  seven  to  twenty  years  of  age.     They  have 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  59 

graduates  in  most  every  province  in  China.  This  is  a  grand 
work.  We  also  visited  the  Dr.  Noyes  school  and  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  where  they  have  thirty-two  men  preparing 
for  the  ministry  and  seventy  others  coming  along  in  the 
various  stages  of  educational  advancement.  Many  Chinese 
ministers  and  teachers  have  gone  cut  from  this  institution. 

Monday  morning  I  visited  the  Canton  Christian  College, 
four  miles  down  the  river,  and  on  the  Honan  Island  side  they 
have  a  big  tract  of  land  and  with  the  buildings  they  have  and 
those  under  way  they  will  be  well  equipped.  The  Chinese 
merchants  are  erecting  two  dormitories.  Money  is  coming 
from  America  for  houses  for  the  teachers  and  the  fees  from 
tuition  pay  expenses,  except  the  European  teachers.  From 
there  I  went  to  the  Provincial  Assembly  building  (just  com- 
pleted), where  the  members  gave  us  a  luncheon.  This  being 
the  last  public  function  we  will  attend  in  our  official  capacity, 
Mr.  Booth  said  it  was  fitting  that  as  I  had  the  first  word  in 
the  inception  of  planning  this  trip  that  I  also  should  have  the 
last  word,  so  he  called  on  me  to  say  a  few  words  to  the 
Provincial  Assembly.  This  address  was  well  receivecl  and 
brought  out  appreciation  from  both  the  Chinese  and  Ameri- 
cans.    I  spoke  as  follows: 

THE    LAST    WORD 

"First  I  wish  to  thank  my  fellow-commissioners  for 
giving  me  the  privilege  of  saying  the  last  word,  as  two  years 
ago  I  took  the  liberty  of  saying  the  first  word  to  the  President 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Shanghai,  which  resulted 
in  their  asking  the  Canton  and  other  Chambers  of  Commerce 
to  join  in  inviting  us  to  visit  you.  That  invitation  stated  the 
object  of  our  visit ;  first,  to  create  a  better  feeling  of  friendship 
between  the  two  nations,  and  secondly,  to  increase  trade  and 
commerce  between  us.  While  I  appreciate  that  I  am  address- 
ing a  Legislative  body,  and  that  we  are  here  strictly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  invitation,  as  commercial  men  and  not  politicians, 
we  make  this  plain  to  you,  as  we  did  to  His  Highness,  the 
Prince  Regent,  and  to  all  who  have  entertained  us. 

*'We  feel  sure  that  the  first  part  of  our  invitation  has  been 
accomplished,  as  no  party  of  purely  business  men  has  ever 
had  such  a  reception  in  the  history  of  the  world,  not  merely 


60  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

from  merchants  and  officials,  but  what  we  consider  the  most 
significant,  the  reception  has  been  from  all  classes,  which  has 
convinced  us  that  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  our  reception 
has  been  sincere,  and  from  the  heart, 

(Seeing  that  the  Chinese  did  not  bring  up  the  immigration 
question,  as  they  intended  doing,  therefore  I  omitted  mention 
of  it.) 

"As  to  the  second  phase  of  our  invitation,  this  will  require 
time  to  develop,  as  trade  and  commerce  grow  slowly,  but  on 
our  return  to  America,  we  will  endeavor  to  interest  our  mer- 
chants to  visit  China  with  a  view  of  extending  their  trade  and 
we  would  especially  ask  your  merchants  to  visit  our  country 
with  the  object  of  extending  their  dealings  with  us. 

"In  conclusion,  we  say  to  you  that  we  will  take  home  the 
most  pleasant  recollections  of  our  visit,  that  will  last  as  long 
as  we  live.  We  feel  that  what  you  have  done  has  not  been 
for  us  as  individuals,  nor  even  as  representatives  of  the  Pacific 
Coast,  but  as  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
of  which  w^e  are  the  humble  representatives.  We  all  unite 
in  the  confidence  that  peace,  harmony  and  good  will  shall  ever 
remain  between  China  and  the  United  States  of  America." 

Hong  Kong — We  returned  to  Hong  Kong  the  following 
m'orning  and  were  invited  by  the  Chinese  Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  a 
reception  at  their  rooms  which  was  a  very  pleasant  affair,  but 
for  the  President  of  the  Merchants'  Association  bringing  up 
the  immigration  question,  as  it  affected  trade  not  only  in 
America,  but  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  He  asked  for  a  re- 
vision of  the  treaty,  the  modification  of  the  exclusion  act,  and 
that  merchants  be  allowed  to  go  and  come  as  we  are  permitted 
to  go  and  come  to  China.  Mr.  Booth  replied  that  at  Canton 
I  had  gone  into  the  question  fully,  and  as  my  address  had 
been  published  both  in  English  and  Chinese,  he  referred  them 
to  our  statement  as  printed,  as  this  represented  fully  the  views 
of  all  the  Commissioners.  As  far  as  we  are  concerned,  this 
ended  the  discussion,  verdict — "buried  but  not  dead."  The 
president  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  gave  a  fine  account  of  their 
progress.  They  have  over  one  thousand  members.  Their 
rooms  are  entirely  too  small,  as  their  members  are  increasing 
daily.     The  following  day  they  received  a  cable  from  New 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  6 1 

York  which  stated  $75,000  would  be  subscribed  if  the  Chinese 
gave  $25,000  to  make  $100,000.  They  immediately  wired 
acceptance,  and  the  directors  present  subscribed  $13,000  on 
the  spot,  so  Hong-  Kong  will  get  a  fine  new  modern  Y.  j\I.  C.  A. 
This  being  a  British  colony  it  seems  remarkable  that  the 
money  should  come  from  America.  Not  only  here,  but  in  the 
various  large  cities  of  China  the  money  to  make  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
possible  has  come  from  America.  Next  evening  we  went  to 
a  banquet  given  by  Chinn  Gee  Kec,  who  is  the  head  and  front 
of  the  Sun  Ming  Railroad  on  West  River.  Forty  miles  are 
in  operation  and  as  many  more  are  projected.  He  lived  forty 
years  in  America  and  built  the  first  railroad  into  Seattle.  He 
raised  the  money  to  build  the  Sun  Ming  Railroad  in  America 
and  altogether  from  Chinese,  no  Europeans  have  had  anything 
to  do  with  it,  either  in  financing  or  operating  it.  All  our  Com- 
missioners were  present.  Several  addresses  were  made  by 
Chinese,  and  Mr.  Furth,  in  whose  honor  the  banquet  was  given, 
spoke  for  the  Commission.  He  said  he  had  known  our  host 
intimately  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  he  conferred 
the  very  high  title  on  him  of  being,  "An  Honest  Man."  The 
banquet  was  served  in  a  Chinese  restaurant  in  the  Chinese 
style.  The  room  was  nicely  decorated  and  all  passed  off  very 
pleasantly.  Mr.  Ng  Poon  Chew  delivered  one  of  his  char- 
acteristic speeches  that  brought  the  house  down.  After  this 
entertainment  our  party  began  to  break  up,  some  going  to 
Europe  by  way  of  Suez.  About  twenty  men  and  women  went 
to  Manila  and  seven  to  Shanghai.  Those  going  to  Manila 
will  spend  one  day  in  Shanghai,  November  loth,  when  a  last 
conference  will  be  had  with  the  Chinese,  the  remainder  of  the 
party  will  go  to  Japan,  thence  home  on  various  steamers. 

Letter  From  Robert  Dollar 

Hoiig  Kong,  October  28,  1910. 

Mr.  Willis  H.  Booth, 

President  Honorary  Commercial  Coiinnissiou, 

Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Dear  Sir :     Replying  to  your  inquiry  as  to  what  I  thought 

of  ]\Ianila  being    the    center    of    distribution    for  American 


62  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

products  in  the  Far  East — This  was  my  opinion  some  years 
ago,  as  I  then  decided  to  make  my  headquarters  for  the  Far 
East  in  Manila,  and  to  bring  over  four  of  my  smallest  steamers 
to  engage  in  the  Coastwise  Inter-island  Trade. 

My  first  setback  was  when  Mr.  Shuster  told  me  he  could 
not  give  me  permission,  as  the  ships  must  be  put  in  the  name 
of  a  Filipino;  but  a  few  days  later  the  climax  was  reached 
when  I  heard  Mr.  Taft  tell  the  Americans  practically  that  we 
were  not  wanted  and  that  the  Philippines  were  for  the 
Filipinos. 

So  I  left  Manila  the  next  day  and  opened  an  office  in 
Shanghai,  which  has  developed  into  a  very  satisfactory  busi- 
ness. I  visited  Manila  two  years  ago  and  found  a  complete 
change  had  taken  place  and  Americans  can  now  have  an  equal 
opportunity  with  the  natives,  and  that  we  were  wanted,  and 
that  we  were  not  "personae  non  grata." 

Hong  Kong  is  the  great  competitor,  and  as  it  has  risen 
to  the  third  seaport  in  the  world's  commerce,  it  is  a  formidable 
rival.  The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek:  Because  it  is  what 
shipping  men  call  a  "free  port."  I  will  confine  my  remarks 
to  shipping,  as  I  understand  that  best.  A  Free  Port  means 
that  a  steamer  arrives  with  a  cargo  from  a  foreign  port ;  there 
are  no  vexatious  delays  in  entering;  no  custom  house  officials, 
no  quarantine,  and  last  but  not  least,  no  immigration  officers 
to  delay  or  bother  you.  The  vessel  arrives  and  begins 
immediately  to  discharge  the  cargo. 

Now  it  is  a  great  mistake  for  citizens  of  a  seaport  to  think 
that  they  are  not  interested  in  what  a  ship  has  to  pay,  as  in 
the  end  the  dear  public  foots  the  bill.  Mr.  Humphreys'  ship 
subsidy  bill  was  shown  to  me  last  session  and  my  opinion  of 
it  asked.  He  had  doubled  the  tonnage  dues.  I  said :  "Ship- 
ping men  are  not  interested,  as  they  in  the  end  did  not  pay 
it."  He  could  not  see  it  and  I  gave  an  illustration :  If  I  was 
carrying  freight  from  the  Orient  to  America  at  $2.00  a  ton. 
and  his  bill  imposed  a  tax  on  the  ship  of  $2.00  a  ton,  his 
contention  was  that  the  ship  would  carry  it  for  $2.00  and 
hand  it  all  to  the  government.  Instead,  the  ship  owner  would 
charge  $4.00,  keep  $2.00,  and  give  the  government  $2.00  and 
the  dear  public  would  pay  $4.00  instead  of  $2.00.  When  his 
bill  was  read  in  the  House,  this  tonnage  tax  did  not  appear. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  ^^ 

Probably  a  concrete  case  of  Hong  Kong  vs.  Manila  might  be 
the  best  way  for  you  to  understand  the  true  conditions. 

When  in  Australia  last  year  I  chartered  the  Bessie  Dollar 
to  bring  a  cargo  of  coal  from  Newcastle  to  Hong  Kong,  but 
it  was  required  very  much  in  Manila.  As  an  inducement  they 
offered  me  i  s.  and  6  d.  (36  cents)  a  ton  extra  and  offered  to 
guarantee  a  discharge  of  six  hundred  tons  a  day,  which  I 
refused  for  the  following  reasons : 

Stevedoring  in  Manila,  40  cents  a  ton ;  in  Hong  Kong  20 
cents;  dispatch  in  Manila,  600  tons  daily;  whereas,  in  Hong 
Kong,  they  discharged  over  2000  tons  a  day.  The  facts  are 
that  the  vessel  arrived  early  Monday  morning  in  Hong  Kong, 
and  on  Thursday  noon  7000  tons  had  been  discharged,  the 
vessel  was  swept  out,  lined  up  for  general  cargo,  loaded  3500 
tons  and  sailed  at  8  p.  m.  on  Saturday. 

Seeing  that  an  ordinary  tramp  steamer  is  worth  $200  gold, 
a  day  to  the  owner,  the  importance  of  discharging  7000  tons 
of  coal  in  three  and  one-half  days,  or  at  Manila  of  taking 
twelve  days  and  two  Sundays,  fourteen  days  in  all  besides  the 
delay  from  customs,  quarantine  and  immigration,  and  for 
Stevedoring,  extra — 

7,000  tons  at  20  cts $1,400 

io>4  days  at  $200 2,100 

Tonnage  dues  or  wharfage — 

About  $30  a  day 420 

Total $3920 

Wharfage  in  INIanila.  which  consignees  pay,  is  90  cents 
a  ton ;  lighterage  on  coal  is  60  cents  a  ton,  and  to  deliver  from 
lighter  to  godown  40  cents,  making  i  peso  a  ton ;  while  in 
Hong  Kong,  lighterage  on  coal  and  delivery  in  godown  is 
45  cents  a  ton. 

So  the  people  of  Manila  have  to  pay  $3920  more  for  7000 
tons  of  coal  than  the  merchants  at  Hong  Kong.  Now  for 
Manila  to  compete,  these  charges  must  be  met.  That  is  as  it 
appears  to  a  shipowner.  How  it  would  appear  to  a  merchant 
I  am  not  familiar  enough  with  the  conditions  to  say.  But  it 
is  reported  that  with  the  wharfage  charges  and  cost  of 
handling  to  the  warehouses,  it  is  much  higher  than  the 
lighterage  and  carrying  into  the  godowns  in  Hong  Kong. 


64  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

Another  serious  drawback  is  the  time  occupied  to  carry 
mail  to  and  from  San  Francisco  to  Manila,  via  Japan  and 
China.  There  is  no  nation  having  a  possession  like  the 
Philippines  that  does  not  have  a  regular,  fast,  direct  mail 
service.     This  is  a  disgrace  to  us  as  a  nation. 

As  to  a  Merchant  Marine,  which  I  claim  is  a  necessity  to 
develop  trade,  I  expect  we  will  have  to  continue  to  build  our 
ships  in  Great  Britain  as  we  are  doing  at  present,  pay  for  them 
in  American  money,  and  fly  the  British  flag.  If  we  ever  get 
into  war, — the  day  of  reckoning  will  come,  and  our  politicians 
will  get  a  rude  awakening. 

Robert  Dollar. 


'"I'lifiaiillylijyi 


TECHNICAl.    l>i:i'ARTMENT    BUILDING — SHANGHAI 
Showing  the  Progress  of  Education   hi   the  Celestial   Empire 


THE    PALACE   HOTEL— SHANGHA  1 
An  Indication  of  the  Advancement  of  Architecture  in  Cliina 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  65 


SHANGHAI 

WE  spent  ten  days  in  Shanghai.  Nearly  the  entire  party 
proceeded  to  Manila,  calling-  at  Shanghai,  November 
nth,  thence  proceeding  on  the  "Manchuria."  some  for  home, 
others  for  Japan. 

While  here  we  had  dinners  and  luncheons  in  our  honor 
every  day.  The  most  notable  affair  was  at  the  residence  of 
Choa  Chew  Kuan,  at  which  the  ladies  of  the  family  and  others 
were  present.  It  was  out  of  the  usual,  therefore  we  enjoyed  it 
very  much.  Among  the  men  present  was  the  President  of  the 
Kiangsu  Provincial  Assembly,  the  Governor  of  Mukden, 
Manchuria,  and  other  notable  Chinese.  We  had  met  the 
President  of  the  Assembly  at  Nanking  and  although  he  could 
not  speak  English,  through  an  interpreter  we  had  a  very 
interesting  discussion  on  constitutional  government,  which  is 
the  all-important  subject  before  them  at  the  present  time  and 
they  are  all  very  anxious  to  learn  from  us  all  we  know  about 
the  various  branches  of  legislation.  To  some  extent  they  are 
in  the  dark  as  to  exactly  what  they  will  ultimately  do.  They 
are  working  out  the  rules  of  procedure,  both  for  the  Assembly 
and  Senate,  but  the  exact  relationship  between  them  has  not 
been  determined.  But  a  much  more  important  subject  on 
which  there  are  various  opinions  is  the  exact  relationship 
between  the  Emperor  and  Senate  and  the  Grand  Councilors. 
A  great  many  holding  high  positions  will  have  to  step  down 
and  out  to  make  room  for  the  constitutional  government,  as 
when  it  is  in  complete  working  order  the  day  of  the  officials 
is  done.  That  is,  the  officials  as  constituted  at  present  and 
only  understood  by  Chinese  themselves.  As  I  am  free  to  say 
that  I  can't  understand  why  so  many  are  employed  and  what 
a  great  many  of  them  do  to  earn  the  money  or  squeeze  they 
get,  in  most  cases  the  salary  they  receive  is  inadequate  and  it 
has  to  be  made  up  by  what  can  be  got  on  the  side.  The  men 
are  not  to  blame,  but  the  system  is,  so  if  they  get  constitutional 
government  (I  mean  the  genuine  article)  all  will  be  changed. 

In  China  this  is  more  difficult  of  realization  than  foreigners 
imagine.     The  feeling  between  the  officials  and  merchants  is 


66  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

not  very  friendly,  and  I  can  distinctly  see  the  breach  has  been 
widened  between  them  very  much  of  late.  This  visit  has 
brought  out  this  fact  very  prominently.  Two  days  before 
leaving  Shanghai  I  gave  a  banquet  at  the  Palace  Hotel  to 
twenty-four  of  the  principal  merchants  of  Shanghai  and  other 
cities.  One  of  the  guests  in  a  speech  said  that  there  never  had 
been  such  a  party  together  m  China  before.  The  presidents  of 
the  following  Chambers  of  Commerce  were  present :  from 
Shanghai,  Canton,  Hankow  and  Tientsin,  the  four  largest 
commercial  cities  in  China.  Three  others  were  represented  by 
their  vice-presidents.  The  distance  between  them  was  two 
thousand  miles,  and  they  had  never  collected  before.  At 
this  banquet  they  decided  to  form  the  Consolidated  or  United 
Chambers  of  Commerce,  so  that  all  of  them  could  act  through 
a  central  organization  in  Shanghai.  So  if  our  visit  to  China 
had  not  done  more  than  to  accomplish  this  we  are  well  repaid. 
This  is  the  first  and  most  significant  move  towards  a  United 
China.  I  did  not  invite  any  Americans,  as  I  wanted  my  guests 
to  be  free  to  discuss  matters  that  they  would  hesitate  to  do  if 
strangers  were  present,  so  we  had  a  very  full  and  free  dis- 
cussion, not  only  on  matters  commercial,  but  political  as  well. 
In  this  connection  it  developed  that  Manchuria  is  giving  them 
a  great  deal  of  anxiety  and  serious  thought,  and  the  sig- 
nificance of  it  was  that  men  from  the  distant  parts  of  China 
agreed  on  the  seriousness  of  the  situation.  The  integrity  of 
China  is  ever  before  them.  I  made  a  short  address  in  the 
following  words: 

Address  by  Robert  Dollar  at  Banquet  Given  by  Him 

TO  Members  of  the  Chambers  of  Commerce 

OF  China,  at  Shanghai 

On  behalf  of  the  Commercial  Commission,  it  gives  me  great 
pleasure  to  welcome  so  many  of  you  here  tonight.  Such  a 
representative  body  of  merchants  from  so  many  different 
provinces,  from  Chili  in  the  north  to  Kwang  Tung  in  the 
south.  It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  and  it  must  be  to  you 
to  know  of  the  great  success  of  our  visit  to  you.  I  see  that  in 
the  Japanese  papers  it  is  now  admitted  that  our  visit  has 
greatly  increased  the  friendship  between  the  two  nations.  But 
what  we  will  discuss  at  the  meeting  next  Friday  will  be  the 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  6/ 

final  means  to  increase  the  trade  between  our  nations.  I  wish 
to  call  your  special  attention  to  the  reciprocal  aspect  of  the 
case;  for  our  trade  relations  to  be  lasting  we  must  have  free 
exchange  of  commodities.  We  must  buy  your  products  and 
you  must  buy  ours.  From  a  shipping  or  transportation  point 
of  view  it  comes  more  forcibly  home  to  us,  for  if  we  come  to 
this  country  and  load  our  ships  with  your  freight  and  you  do 
not  buy  sufficient  from  us  and  we  have  to  bring  our  ships  from 
America  empty,  then  we  must  charge  you  almost  double 
freight ;  and,  therefore,  you  are  as  much  interested  as  ourselves 
in  furnishing  cargoes  both  ways.  The  following  will  all  help 
our  commercial  relations : 

1.  The  loaning  of  American  money  to  your  government. 

2.  The  formation  of  a  Chinese-American  bank  as  pro- 
posed. 

3.  The  establishment  of  exhibits  in  both  countries  with  a 
competent  man  in  charge. 

4.  The  establishment  of  your  merchant  marine  in  the 
foreign  trade. 

All  those  things  will  help,  but  the  most  essential  of  all  is 
for  your  merchants  and  ours  to  visit  each  other's  countries 
and  get  acquainted  and  study  each  other's  wants,  and  in  no 
way  can  this  trade  be  developed  as  by  the  individual  efforts  and 
energy  which  is  essential  to  the  development  of  our  commercial 
relations. 

luuiiigration — I  did  not  intend  to  mention  this  subject, 
but  as  my  friend,  the  President  of  the  Canton  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  His  Excellency  Chang  Pat  Sze,  Assistant  Minister 
of  Commerce,  has  brought  it  up.  I  must  reply.  But  I  cannot 
say  more  than  I  said  in  my  address  at  Canton  before  the 
Provincial  Assembly  as  published  in  all  the  Chinese  papers. 
I  can  assure  you  that  any  bona  fide  merchant  or  student  will 
have  no  trouble  in  landing. 

I  ask  you  to  drink  a  toast,  which  at  this  time  I  consider 
appropriate,  as  I  am  addressing  gentlemen  from  all  parts  of 
China:     ''A  United  China/' 

jMr.  H.  E.  Chow,  who  answered  my  remarks,  was  inter- 
preted by  Mr.  Chu  Li  Chi.    He  said  he  could  not  tell  me  how 


68  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 

much  they  appreciated  my  visit  at  this  time,  knowing  that 
I  had  but  recently  returned  home ;  but,  at  their  urgent  request 
by  letter  and  cable  I  had  consented  to  leave  my  home  comforts 
and  business  and  again  cross  seven  thousand  miles  of  ocean  to 
meet  them,  and  to  assure  the  success  of  the  visit  of  representa- 
tives of  the  Pacific  Coast, 

He  also  stated  that  they  appreciated  what  I  had  done 
toward  the  promotion  of  friendly  relations  between  America 
and  China,  as  well  as  toward  increasing  commerce  between 
our  nations.  In  conclusion,  he  wished  Mrs.  Dollar  and  myself 
a  safe  and  pleasant  passage  home,  and  long  life  and  prosperity. 
So  ended  the  most  interesting  and  instructive  meeting  I  have 
had  in  China.  The  results  will  be  far-reaching  if  it  is  for 
nothing  more  than  the  formation  of  the  Combined  Chambers 
of  Commerce  of  the  Empire  of  China.  It  was  arranged  to 
meet  in  the  large  banquet  room  in  the  Palace  Hotel  on  arrival 
of  the  steamer  "Manchuria"  at  1 1  a.  m.,  November  loth. 

FINAL   CONFERENCE  AT   SHANGHAI 

Our  party  arrived  on  the  * 'Manchuria"  from  Manila  at  lO 
o'clock,  but  only  a  part  of  them  got  to  the  meeting  at  II 
o'clock,  although  the  Chinese  were  all  in  attendance  before  the 
steamer  arrived.  As  neither  president  nor  vice-president  were 
present  I  could  not  wait  any  longer,  so  called  the  meeting  to 
order.  Mr.  Moore  arriving  shortly  after,  I  asked  him  to 
preside;  and  following  a  prearranged  plan,  I  asked  H.  E. 
Chang  of  Canton  to  act  as  joint  chairman,  with  Mr.  Moore. 

This  was  a  fortunate  stroke,  as  he  is  a  very  distinguished 
man  and  had  come  from  Kwang  Tung  Province,  in  the 
extreme  south,  and  also  on  account  of  the  immigration 
troubles.  I  outlined  the  various  subjects  that  had  been  under 
discussion  from  time  to  time  during  the  past  week  at  the 
various  meetings,  at  which  H.  E.  Shen  Tun  Ho  was  the 
moving  spirit. 

The  subjects  for  discussion,  were: 

I.     Bank,  one-half  Chinese  capital,  one-half  American. 

Half  of  the  capital,  three  million  taels  was  subscribed  by 
the  Chinese.  Our  committee  on  banks  agreed  to  submit  a 
report  to  the  bankers  on  our  side. 


ROBERT     DOLLAR  69 

2.  Exhibits  in  China  and  America. 

It  was  approved  and  will  be  submitted  to  our  Associated 
Chambers  of  Commerce  at  the  January  meeting. 

3.  Exposition  at  San  Francisco  in  191 5. 

It  was  decided  that  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce 
of  China  would  ask  the  government  at  Peking  to  take  action 
and  ask  our  government  to  have  it  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

4.  Reciprocity. 

Reciprocity  was  discussed  and  made  very  plain  to  all,  that 
each  country  must  buy  from  the  other.  Trade  to  prosper  can- 
not be  one-sided. 

5.  Merchants  of  both  countries  to  visit  each  other. 
With  the  above  object  in  view  merchants  must  visit  each 

other's  country  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  acquainted,  so 
that  trade  may  be  increased. 

6.  Building  of  a  steamer,  one-half  capital  from  each 
country,  to  fly  the  Chinese  flag. 

The  building  of  a  freight  steamer,  one-half  the  capital  to 
come  from  Chinese  and  Americans,  to  fly  the  Chinese  flag. 
The  Chambers  will  take  this  up  with  the  Minister  of  Com- 
merce and  see  what  the  laws  are,  and  with  the  Minister  of 
Communications  to  see  what  inducements  he  would  offer. 

7.  Uniting  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China. 

The  Chambers  represented  reported  that  last  night  the 
Combined  Chambers  of  Comerce  were  formed  to  take  in  all 
China,  with  headquarters  at  Shanghai.  This  is  the  first  time 
the  people  of  the  various  provinces,  so  far  apart  as  Manchuria 
or  Chili,  would  act  together  or  in  unison.  This  produced  a 
great  deal  of  enthusiasm. 

The  Shanghai  Secretary,  Chu  Yi  Chi,  read  the  report 
of  the  committee  composed  of  different  chambers. 


70  PRIVATE    DIARY    OF 


QUESTIONS  BROUGHT    UP    FOR   DISCUSSION  BY 

THE  CHINESE  CHAMBERS  OF  COMMERCE 

AT  THE  CONFERENCE 

I. BANKING   CORPORATION    SCHEME 

TO  start  an  American-Chinese  Banking  Corporation  with 
a  capital  of  6,000,000  Shanghai  taels  or  Mexican  dollars, 
half  of  which  to  be  subscribed  by  Americans  and  half  by 
Chinese  and  to  be  registered  at  Washington  and  Peking,  under 
American  ordinances  with  its  head  office  at  the  most  desirable 
port  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  said  bank,  besides  doing  its 
regular  business  in  ordinary  mercantile  loans  against  delivery 
orders,  etc.,  can  also  be  the  agency  of  the  Chinese  government 
loans  for  the  construction  of  railways,  organization  of  in- 
dustrial enterprises  and  development  of  resources;  it  may  also 
extend  its  business  in  the  nature  of  a  loan  and  trust  company 
should  circumstances  permit  of  it.  As  China  at  present  needs 
capital  for  developing  her  resources,  the  rate  of  interest  in  the 
Orient  is  higher  than  it  is  in  the  Occident.  Owing  to  the 
system  of  our  government,  and  the  uncertainty  of  our  bank- 
ing laws,  the  wealthy  Chinese  and  high  officials  would  rather 
entrust  their  deposits  with  foreign-registered  banks  than 
with  Chinese  banks.  In  view  of  these  facts,  there  are 
enormous  possibilities  for  profit  in  starting  such  a  bank,  and 
without  the  possibility  of  loss,  if  placed  under  the  control  of 
honest  experts.  The  matter,  however,  will  be  more  fully 
discussed  at  the  meeting. 

2. ESTABLISHMENT  OF  EXHIBITION   HALLS 

With  a  view  to  promoting  trade  between  America  and 
China  it  is  desirable  that  the  American  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce will  provide  a  hall  (at  such  port  along  the  Pacific  Coast 
where  they  see  fit  for  import  from  China)  for  the  exhibition 
of  all  the  Chinese  products  which  will  be  sent  from  time  to 
time  by  the  Chinese  Chambers  if  they  deem  it  expedient.  The 
said  hall  with  the  supervision  and  assistance  of  the  American 
Chamber  to  be  managed  by  English-speaking  Chinese,  whose 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  7 I 

duty  would  be  to  give  information  and  answer  all  questions 
regarding  the  products.  The  manager  would  also  attend  to 
the  correspondence,  and  from  time  to  time  issue  reports 
concerning  business  conditions  and  the  markets  in  China  and 
the  United  States,  thereby  keeping  the  Chambers  of  Commerce 
of  the  two  nations  in  close  touch  and  well  advised.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Chinese  Chambers  of  Commerce  to  provide 
a  similar  hall,  say  at  Shanghai,  to  be  governed  and  managed 
in  a  similar  manner. 


3. APPOINTMENT    OF    COMMERCIAL   DELEGATES   AND 

CANVASSING   AGENCIES 

For  the  furtherance  of  trade  between  America  and  China 
it  is  advisable  to  mutually  send  commercial  delegates  as  can- 
vassing agencies  for  the  two  countries.  The  American 
delegate  will  stay  in  China  with  his  headquarters,  say  at 
Shanghai,  and  the  Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce  to  provide 
him  with  an  English-speaking  assistant,  an  office  and  letters 
of  introduction.  His  business  would  be  to  travel  with  samples 
of  American  products  from  port  to  port  for  advertising  and 
for  securing  orders  from  industrial  merchants.  The  Chinese 
delegate  should  stay  in  America,  with  headquarters  at  the 
most  desirable  port  along  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  his  duties 
to  be  similar  to  those  of  the  representative  in  China,  and 
similar  treatment  to  be  accorded  him  by  the  American 
Chambers  of  Commerce. 

These  are  practical  suggestions  which  can  be  carried  out 
economically  with  great  success.  We  hope  that  the  American 
Business  Commissioners  will  give  them  their  favorable  con- 
sideration and  take  prompt  action. 

PERMANENT    COMMERCIAL    MUSEUM 

Mr.  K.  p.  Chew,  of  Nanking,  spoke  on  behalf  of  the 
Exposition,  as  follows : 

"When  the  Commissioners  were  in  Nanking  last  month  this 
subject  had  been  roughly  discussed  and  met  with  general 
approval  among  our  merchants  as  well  as  the  representatives 
of  the   Exhibitors'   Association.     Later  on,  the  subject   was 


y2  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

again  brought  before  the  pubHc  by  His  Excellency  Sheng 
Tun  Ho.  His  articles  in  the  local  press  at  Shanghai  and 
other  ports  have  not  only  drawn  the  people's  attention,  but 
created  a  desire  throughout  the  Empire.  It  is  now  universally 
recognized  that  an  institution  of  this  kind  and  properly 
managed  would  go  a  long  way  to  promote  the  commercial 
relations  of  the  two  countries. 

"The  visit  of  the  members  of  the  Associated  Chambers 
of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  ports  to  China  is  an  epoch-making 
event  in  the  history  of  commerce.  Through  their  visits  to  our 
cities,  they  have  gathered  whatever  facts  that  are  necessary 
for  their  purposes.  On  the  other  hand,  our  merchants  have, 
through  their  personal  contact,  acquired  also  valuable  in- 
formation from  them.  It  is  a  mutual  proposition,  but  it 
lacks  a  permanent  character.  The  International  Commercial 
Museum  would  maintain  not  only  what  has  been  accomplished, 
but  it  would  gather  further  information  al)out  the  market 
and  serve  as  a  medium  to  promote  commerce. 

"The  scope  of  the  institution  must  be  broad.  Several 
museums  must  be  established  in  China  and  in  the  Pacific  ports. 
In  the  museums  there  should  be  a  complete  exhibition  of 
products,  etc.  There  should  be  a  Bureau  of  Information, 
where  general  information  and  specific  information  can  be 
obtained  by  the  merchants  as  well  as  interested  parties.  There 
should  be  in  each  country,  and  in  respective  language,  a 
newspaper  as  the  origin  for  the  development  of  American- 
Chinese  commerce. 

"The  organization  for  administration  of  the  museums 
should  also  be  international.  There  should  be  a  central  board, 
whose  members  are  composed  of  half  representatives  of 
American  Chambers  of  Commerce  and  half  of  these  of 
Chinese.     By  so  organizing  the  uniformity  may  be  obtained." 

Luncheon  was  then  served  in  the  same  room,  but  we  had 
been  so  interested  and  taken  so  much  time  discussing  the 
various  subjects  that  we  had  not  time  to  finish  lunch,  besides 
speeches  were  being  made  all  the  time  we  were  eating.  We 
had  to  hurry  to  the  tender  and  arrived  exactly  at  i  p.  m.,  the 
time   set    for   sailing.      We   immediately   got   on   board   and 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  73 

sailed.  The  entire  party  and  a  great  many  friends  were  there 
to  see  us  off.  including  all  the  Chinese  who  came  in  a  body 
to  say  good-bye  and  wish  us  bon  z'oyagc.  Everyone,  Chinese 
and  Americans,  w^ere  delighted  at  the  great  success  of  our 
visit,  from  which  we  hope  to  derive  great  results. 


GENERAL  RESUTS  OF  THE  VISIT 

NOW  that  the  trip,  or  rather  the  visit,  is  over,  w-e  can  sum 
up  the  results.  First,  as  to  creating  a  better  feeling  of 
friendship  between  the  two  nations,  this  has  certainly  been 
accomplished,  as  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  anyone  to 
have  given  us  the  reception  we  got  all  over  China  without 
being  extremely  friendly  to  us  because  we  were  Americans  and 
represented  our  country,  not  because  of  us,  as  individuals,  or 
as  representing  any  particular  locality,  as  they  neither  knew 
many  of  us  as  individuals  or  our  particular  locality,  but  only 
because  of  the  nation  we  represented.  And  while  our  trip 
was  commercial  and  not  political  we  could  see  a  great  deal  of 
the  latter  injected  into  it  by  our  hosts  at  all  the  different  places 
we  visited  and  seeing  the  great  diplomatic  game  that  is  being 
played  in  Peking,  in  which  America  for  the  first  time  seems 
to  be  taking  an  important  part.  It  looks  as  if  our  visit  at  this 
critical  time  was  opportune  and  of  great  benefit  and  advantage 
to  our  country,  politically,  although  it  never  was  intended  as 
such. 

In  studying  closely  the  various  incidents,  and  the  inter- 
national relations  of  the  Chinese,  it  becomes  more  apparent  to 
us  who  have  been  on  the  spot  and  have  had  the  opportunity  of 
conversing  with  those  at  the  head  of  affairs  and  getting  some 
inside  information,  by  which  we  are  lead  to  expect  stirring 
times  in  China,  politically  as  well  as  commercially.  What  we 
have  accomplished  in  the  latter  can  not  be  told  at  present,  as 
it  will  take  time  to  develop.  We  have  learned,  however,  that 
our  success  in  developing  trade  will  depend  to  a  great  extent 
in  our  ability  to  interest  our  merchants  at  home  in  this  trade, 
which  can  only  be  increased  and  developed  by  either  the 
principals  or  their  best  men  personally  investigating.  No  other 
way  will  ever  produce  great  results.  We  are  all  perfectly 
satisfied  that  by  this  method  a  great  expansion  of  our  com- 


74  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

merce  can  be  secured,  both  in  imports  and  exports.  It  looks 
as  if  our  exports  will  take  more  effort,  as  the  European  com- 
petition is  very  keen,  but  we  have  met  nothing  to  discourage 
us,  but  a  great  deal  to  encourage  us  in  accomplishing  the 
desired  end. 


GENERAL  SUMMARY  OF  REPORTS  ON  TRADE 
AND  COMMERCE 

SHIPPING 

AMONG  other  reports  made  by  Mr.  Dollar,  he  calls  the 
attention  of  the  American  people  to  the  absence  of  Ameri- 
can ships  in  the  foreign  trade.  It  is  an  old  saying  that  trade 
follows  the  flag.  If  that  was  literally  true  we  would  be  down 
and  out,  and  under  present  conditions  it  is  a  wonder  that 
we  are  able  to  hold  even  the  small  trade  which  we  have.  In 
the  employment  of  foreign  ships  to  carry  our  merchandise  it 
must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  officers  and  crew  are  all 
drummers  for  their  own  country  and  never  miss  the  oppor- 
tunity of  explaining  to  our  customers  that  the  cargo  they 
carry  from  America  could  be  bought  cheaper  and  better  in 
their  own  country.  We  are  much  in  want  of  direct  mail  and 
freight  communication  with  China,  as  at  present  all  the  mail 
steamers  call  at  the  various  ports  of  Japan  before  going  to 
China.  To  do  much  trade  with  China  we  must  have  direct 
and  frequent  communication.  This  can  only  be  done  by  our 
government  and  the  Chinese  government  paying  a  compensa- 
tion for  carrying  the  mails,  such  as  other  nations  pay.  We 
submit  this  to  both  governments  for  their  serious  consider- 
ation. If  we  expect  to  increase  and  perpetuate  our  commerce 
we  must  have  both  American  and  Chinese  freight  steamers  to 
do  it,  otherwise  the  trade  will  go  to  our  more  enterprising 
competitors.  In  this  connection  we  would  call  the  attention 
of  Congress  to  the  fact,  that  mails  and  passengers  from  the 
Pacific  Coast  to  the  Philippines,  are  first  carried  through  the 
principal  ports  of  Japan  and  China  before  they  finally  reach 
Manila.  No  other  nation  having  dependencies  of  the  import- 
ance of  the  Philippines  but  has  direct  and  fast  mail 
communication. 


TAOTAI    SHEN    Tl^N-HO 

Head  of  tlie  Red  Cross,  Manager  of  the  Imperial   Bank,  and  an 

All   Around   Man   of  Affairs 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  75 

LUMBER 

China  imported  from  the  United  States  131,000,000  feet 
in  1908  and  91,000,000  feet  in  1909.  If  the  proper  efforts 
were  put  forth  this  amount  could  be  very  much  increased. 
Although  the  competition  from  native  woods  is  keen,  as  they 
can  be  produced  cheaper,  the  quality  generally  is  not  so  good. 

The  principal  supply  for  North  China  comes  from  the  Yalu 
river,  the  boundary  between  Korea  and  Manchuria.  The 
timber  from  this  region  is  of  a  very  good  quality,  resembling 
the  white  pine  of  the  Eastern  States.  It  is  all  hewn  square  in 
the  woods,  running  from  twelve  inches  to  thirty  inches  square 
and  from  twelve  feet  to  thirty  feet  in  length.  It  is  rafted 
and  brought  long  distances  from  the  interior  to  Antung  or 
Tatangow,  where  it  is  loaded  into  junks  or  steamers  of  high 
draft,  as  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  only  has  twelve  to 
fourteen  feet  of  water  on  it  at  high  tide.  The  principal  market 
is  Tientsin  and  Peking.  Chefoo,  Larien  and  Newchang  also 
take  large  quantities.  The  total  shipments  run  over 
200,000,000  feet  a  year.  The  Upper  Yangtse  supplies  a  large 
amount  which  is  distributed  to  all  the  cities  along  the  river. 
Some  of  it  comes  2000  miles  in  large  rafts,  which  are  run 
through  the  rapids  and  gorges  of  the  upper  river.  Shen 
Fuchow  produces  a  great  quantity  of  what  in  the  market  is 
called  Fuchow  polise.  The  logs  run  from  twelve  feet  to  thirty 
feet  in  length  and  from  four  inches  to  ten  inches  in  diameter. 
They  are  also  rafted  down  the  Min  river  to  Pagoda  anchorage, 
ten  miles  below  Fuchow,  there  loaded  in  large  junks  and 
carried  to  all  the  large  cities  of  Southern  China.  Great 
quantities  are  sold  in  Shanghai.  The  junks  carry  the  largest 
deck  loads  of  any  vessels  in  the  world ;  an  ordinary  load  is 
fourteen  feet  high  and  overhangs  on  each  side  of  the  vessel 
sixteen  feet,  thereby  making  the  freight  rate  extremely  low. 
On  the  ground  where  these  poles  are  cut  the  land  is  im- 
mediately replanted,  and  re-cut  when  they  are  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  years  old,  so  that  the  supply  is  practically  inexhaustible, 
and  competition  from  this  source  will  be  lasting. 

COAL 

At  the  present  writing  only  three  districts  are  producing 
coal    in    quantities,    namely,    the    Fung    Shang    mines,    near 


76  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

Peking,  the  Tong  Shang  mines,  owned  by  the  Chinese 
Engineering  and  Mining  Company,  and  the  Long  Shang 
mines,  owned  by  the  government,  all  in  Chili  Province.  On 
the  Yangtse  river  are  the  great  Ping  Shiang  mines  in  Kiangsi 
Province,  operated  by  the  Han  Yang  Ping  Coal  and  Iron 
Company.  The  entire  product  goes  to  Hankow.  It  is  a 
good  coking  coal  and  a  great  number  of  coke  ovens  are  in 
operation.  This  mine  is  connected  with  a  sixty-mile  railroad 
to  waters  tributary  to  the  Yangtse,  where  the  coal  and  coke 
is  transhipped  to  light-draft  boats  and  carried  to  Hankow. 

In  addition  to  the  above  mines  that  are  worked  by  modern 
methods,  there  are  a  number  of  mines  in  Shansi  and  Honan 
worked  by  the  Chinese,  but  in  a  most  primitive  manner,  their 
products  being  sold  locally  and  delivered  in  baskets  carried 
by  men.  As  to  the  quantity  of  coal  in  China  many  reports 
have  been  made  on  it  and  all  agree  that  there  is  more  coal 
in  China  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world  put  together.  Shansi, 
Honan  and  Szchuen  are  all  rich  in  coal  and  it  is  all  there  yet, 
as  it  has  not  even  been  prospected.  No  country  offers  this 
opportunity  for  coal  mining,  and  the  possible  wealth  to  be 
derived  from  this  industry  alone,  is  incalculable. 

Then  there  are  the  German  mines  in  Shantung  province, 
in  which  considerable  development  has  been  done,  but  they 
have  not  exported  much  yet,  the  product  being  used  locally. 
The  Peking  Syndicate  have  mines  in  operation  in  Honan 
that  promise  to  be  big  producers.  Their  product  up  to  the 
present  time  has  also  been  used  only  locally. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  but  very  difficult  to  comprehend, 
that  China  imports  over  1,500,000  tons  of  coal  a  year.  This 
information  is  taken  from  the  customs  reports. 

MANUFACTURES   OF   IRON   AND   STEEL 

The  only  plant  in  China  is  the  Han  Yang  Iron  and  Steel 
Co.,  near  Hankow.  This  plant  has  been  running  in  a  small 
way  for  twelve  years,  but  during  the  last  few  years  it  has  been 
greatly  increased,  and  now  has  a  capacity  of  500  tons  to  600 
tons  a  day  of  pig  iron  and  about  200  tons  of  steel.  Under 
the  present  able  management  of  Sheng  Kung  Poa  as  president 
and  V.  K.  Lee  as  general  manager,  it  can  now  be  considered 
as  a  great  success.     It  is  modern,  up-to-date  in  every  respect, 


V.  K.  LEE 
Vice-President  and  Genl  Manager,  Han  Yang  Iron  &  Steel  Works 
"Tlie  Man   Behind   tlie   Gun"   in   tlie   Commercial 
Affairs  of  China 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  yj 

and,  of  its  size,  is  as  good  as  the  best  in  any  countiy,  having 
its  own  iron  mines,  coal  mines,  coke  ovens,  steamers  and 
barges. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  technical  men  their  entire 
staff  is  Chinese  and  they  have  succeeded  in  getting  Chinese 
to  manage  the  details  of  the  plant  as  creditably  as  any  iron 
works  are  managed  in  the  United  States.  Their  product  is 
disposed  of  in  China.  Japan  and  the  Pacific  Coast  of  America. 
During  191 1  the  latter  place  will  take  20.000  tons  of  foundry 
pig  iron  and  40.000  tons  of  basic  pig  iron.  So  the  United 
States  is  their  best  customer,  but  there  is  great  room  for 
expansion.  W'e  commend  the  iron  industry  of  China  to  the 
careful  consideration  of  those  interested  in  America. 

REPORT  ox  IRON  AND  IROX  ORE 

Iron  ore  has  not  been  much  looked  after  in  China,  and 
the  only  mine  of  any  importance  that  is  worked  is  the  Yah 
Yei  mine  in  Hupeh  Province,  about  sixty  miles  down  the 
Yangtse  River  from  Hankow.  It  is  fourteen  miles  from  the 
river  and  is  connected  by  a  very  good  standard-gauge  railroad, 
which  carries  ore  to  the  river  bank.  At  Soui  Yow,  where  it 
is  stored  until  shipment  is  made,  vessels  drawing  twenty-four 
feet  of  water  can  lay  alongside  the  pontoons  and  load  cargo 
for  any  part  of  the  world  eight  months  in  the  year;  the 
remaining  four  months  the  water  falls  too  low  for  vessels 
of  over  twelve  feet  draft. 

This  mine  is  a  mountain  of  hematite  ore  five  hundred  feet 
high  and  is  worked  as  a  quarry.  The  ore  is  very  low  in 
sulphur  and  runs  from  65%  to  (ij'^f^  of  metal-iron.  At  the 
present  time  no  mine  is  worked  to  any  extent  except  this  one. 
The  output  is  as  follows : 

For  the  Han    Yang    Iron    \\'orks,    the 

owners  of  the  mine,  about 300,000  tons 

For  the  Japanese  government 100,000  tons 

To  be  shipped  to  America 100.000  tons 

Output  per  annum 500.000  tons 

Large  deposits  are  known  to  exist  along  the  Yangtse  River, 
especially    in    Szchuen    Province.     Deposits    have    also    been 


78  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

found  in  Honan,  Chili,  Fukien  and  Quantung  provinces,  but 
they  are  only  outcroppings,  as  no  development  nor  prosi>ecting 
work  has  been  done.  In  iron  ore  China  is  reported  to  have 
more  than  any  other  nation,  and  within  the  next  ten  years 
there  will  be  a  great  development  of  this  industry. 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  79 

REPORT  OF  ROBERT  DOLLAR  PUBLISHED  BY  SAN 

FRANCISCO  PRESS  AFTER  RETURN 

OF  COMMISSIONERS 

1WISH  to  say  that  this  trip  has  been  a  complete  success  from 
start  to  finish.  In  the  invitation  which  the  Chinese  sent 
us  nearly  two  years  ago,  two  objects  or  reasons  for  inviting 
us  were  specified — one  was  to  create  a  better  feeling  of 
friendship  between  America  and  China;  and  the  other,  to 
increase  trade  and  commerce. 

The  first  part  has  been  accomplished,  as  no  party  of  busi- 
ness men  ever  got  such  a  reception  as  was  given  us.  The 
Viceroys  of  five  of  the  principal  provinces  received  us  at  their 
various  provincial  capitals.  Governors  of  the  provinces,  Tao- 
tais  of  every  city  (corresponding  to  our  Mayor),  and  at 
Peking  by  His  Imperial  Highness,  the  Prince  Regent,  told  us 
that  there  never  had  been  so  many  foreigners  (24)  received 
at  one  time;  in  fact,  it  is  quite  unusual  to  receive  merchants, 
and  we  made  it  plain  to  him  that  our  visit  was  not  political 
and  that  we  were  just  ordinary  American  business  men.  The 
various  Ministers  gave  us  banquets,  luncheons  and  receptions 
until  we  were  about  worn  out.  The  newly  formed  Senate 
gave  us  a  great  banquet,  where  we  met  men  from  every 
province,  all  anxious  to  learn  from  us  what  they  could  about 
our  form  of  government,  as  they  desire  to  pattern  their  new 
constitutional  government  as  much  after  ours  as  possible. 

In  all  the  provincial  capitals  the  Assemblies  gave  us 
banquets;  at  Nanking  they  received  us  in  their  assembly 
room,  which  was  not  quite  completed,  and  this  was  the  first 
meeting  ever  held  in  it,  and  strange  to  say,  the  first  sound 
other  than  that  of  the  workmen,  was  the  ''Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  played  by  the  military  brass  band.  The  President 
of  the  Assembly  proposed  the  toast,  "The  President  of  the 
United  States."  When  the  Viceroy  at  this  place  gave  us  a 
reception,  he  had  two  regiments  of  infantry  lining  the  streets 
and  courtyards  of  his  yamen,  with  two  full  military  brass 
bands.  At  Hankow  a  banquet  was  provided  for  us  at  the 
Chinese  Race  Club,  at  which  the  fireworks  were  the  best  we  had 
ever  seen.     The  crowd  at  this  place  was  estimated  to  be  over 


80  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

75,000  people,  who  remained  on  the  ground  until  we  left  after 
midnight,  when  they  had  to  walk  back  to  the  city,  a  distance 
of  three  miles. 

Space  will  not  permit  an  account  of  our  reception  at 
Tientsin,  Chefoo,  Foochow,  Amoy,  Hong  Kong  and  of  the 
great  naval  reception  at  Canton,  which  was  the  best  in  that  line. 

We  visited  the  great  iron  and  steel  works  at  Hanyang  and 
saw  a  modern,  up-to-date  plant.  We  also  visited  their  iron 
mine,  a  solid  hill  of  hermatite  iron  ore  500  feet  high,  which 
they  are  working  as  a  quarry.  There  is  enough  ore  in  sight  to 
last  100  years.  This  is  the  only  iron  works  and  iron  mine 
that  is  worked  in  China.  Experts  claim  that  there  is  more 
coal  and  iron  in  the  Yangtse  Valley  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the 
world.  The  reason  the  mines  have  not  been  developed,  are,  the 
superstitution  that  if  they  opened  mines  the  evil  spirits  would 
come  out,  which  effectually  prevented  any  mining  or  even 
prospecting;  and  now  that  this  has  been  overcome,  they  lack 
money  to  develop  their  resources.  Iron  and  coal  are  not  the 
only  minerals,  as  there  are  great  outcroppings  of  copper.  But, 
ignoring  all  other  minerals,  any  country  that  has  an  abundance 
of  iron  ore  and  coal,  with  any  amount  of  cheap  labor,  all 
within  reach  of  ocean-going  steamers,  has  the  means  of  be- 
coming the  greatest  commercial  nation  of  the  world.  As  to 
the  commercial  results  of  our  visit,  it  will  take  time  to  de- 
termine what  has  been  accomplished.  One  thing,  however,  is 
necessary,  and  that  is  to  get  our  manufacturers  and  merchants 
interested  in  the  great  trade  that  can  be  developed,  and  to  go 
to  China  and  investigate  and  study  the  conditions  for  them- 
selves. They  will  find  the  Germans  and  English  already  on 
the  spot,  hence  the  reason  they  are  doing  the  business.  All 
the  large  installations  of  machinery  we  saw  were  either  Ger- 
man or  English.  Our  merchants  will  find  the  Chinese  more 
friendly  toward  us  than  toward  any  other  nation,  and  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  do  business  with  us.  So  our  prospects 
are  as  good,  if  not  better,  than  those  of  any  others,  provided 
we  go  after  the  business  in  the  right  way,  and  sell  at  com- 
petition prices.  We  are  very  much  handicapped  for  want  of 
a  merchant  marine,  as  our  competitors  have  a  decided  advan- 
tage over  us  by  having  their  own  vessels  to  deliver  their 
merchandise    and    carry    Chinese    products    to    their    home 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  8 1 

country.  One  of  the  results  of  our  visit,  (on  our  suggestion), 
was  the  consoHdation  of  all  the  chambers  of  commerce  in 
China  into  one  central  organization  in  Shanghai,  making  it 
the  strongest  commercial  organization  in  the  world. 

Robert  Dollar 
(From  the  Chinese  Students'  Journal) 

In  a  recent  number  of  the  "American-Asiatic"  an  article 
on  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  called  a  "trade  builder,"  and 
following  is  what  they  said  : 

"If  there  is  one  man  on  the  Pacific  Coast  more  than 
another  who  is  worthy  of  the  praise  of  his  fellowmen  for  the 
interest  he  has  taken  in  their  welfare  by  trying  to  induce  them 
to  seek  a  profitable  trade  with  the  Orient,  that  man  is  Robert 
Dollar,  president  of  the  Robert  Dollar  Co.  of  San  Francisco. 
Not  only  has  he  built  up  a  successful  business  with  the  Orient 
for  himself  and  the  company  of  which  he  is  the  presiding 
officer,  but  he  has  given  his  time  and  money  in  the  interests 
of  others  whom  he  desires  to  seek  these  foreign  markets. 

"No  American  is  more  respected  nor  more  trusted  by  the 
Chinese  in  the  ports  where  he  is  known  than  Robert  Dollar. 
And  when,  two  years  ago,  with  a  view  to  increasing  the 
commerce  between  the  west  coast  of  the  United  States  and 
China,  he  induced  the  chambers  of  commerce  of  the  treaty 
ports  to  issue  an  invitation  to  the  Associated  Chambers  of 
Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast  to  send  a  party  of  representative 
business  men  on  a  visit  to  China,  he  virtually  completed  the 
arrangements  which  will  result  in  the  present  trip. 

VISIT  proposed  two  years  ago 

"Although  it  was  designed  that  the  American  merchants 
should  visit  China  two  years  ago,  the  trip  was  later  postponed 
so  that  they  would  reach  China  while  the  Nanking  Exposition 
was  in  progress.  As  this  is  the  first  exposition  to  be  held  in 
that  country,  it  was  believed  it  would  prove  interesting  and 
instructive  to  our  representatives  by  giving  them  some  idea 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  Chinese  carry  on  business,  as  well 
as  the  interest  with  which  the  natives  view  modern  commercial 
methods  of  exploiting  goods  for  the  markets  of  the  world. 


82  PRIVATE  DIARY   OF 

"Mr.  Dollar  was  the  first  one  to  see  the  advantage  of 
introducing  pig  iron  in  the  United  States,  and  after  years 
of  strenuous  effort  and  expenchture  of  money,  he  at  last 
succeeded  in  building  up  a  large  and  profitable  trade  in  this 
line  between  China  and  the  west  coast  of  the  United  States. 
More  recently  he  introduced  Chinese  iron  ore  and  in  those 
two  commodities  it  took  seven  large  cargo  steamers  this  year 
to  transport  the  amount  sold  in  x\merica.  And  the  end  is  not 
yet,  as  the  demand  is  rapidly  increasing  and  a  9000-ton 
steamer  is  now^  building  in  Scotland  for  his  company  to  engage 
in  this  trade.  Various  other  Chinese  products  have  been 
introduced  by  his  enterprise.  Oak  logs  were  first  imported  by 
him  from  Japan  to  America.  This  trade  has  also  grown  to 
large  proportions.  The  recent  visit  of  the  American  Com- 
missioners from  the  chambers  of  commerce  is  the  result  of  his 
untiring  energv\  The  success  of  this  visit  is  phenomenal,  as 
from  the  Prince  Regent  down  tliey  were  received  with  the 
highest  honors  from  official  merchants  and  all  classes  in  every 
city  they  visited.  The  getting  up  of  this  party  will  stand  as  a 
lasting  memory  to  the  Chinese  nation  for  having  produced  a 
better  and  stronger  feeling  of  friendship  between  the  two 
nations,  the  beneficial  effects  of  which  are  already  visible.  In 
the  end  increase  of  trade  and  commerce  will  follow.  His 
example  should  stimulate  our  young  men  to  renewed  efforts 
and  energy  to  go  and  do  likewise." 

GENERAL  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OX   TRADE  AND 
COMMERCE 

We  find  that  the  imports  into    China    from    all 

countries  for   1908  were $248,538,000 

For   1909  were 263,666,000 

An  increase  of  6  per  cent $  15,128,000 

While  the  imports  from  America  stood, 

For  1908 $25,984,000 

For   1909 20,541,000 

A  decrease  of  21  per  cent,  or  a  falling  off  of $  5,443,000 

Exports  in   1908  to  America $15,009,000 

Exports  in  1909  to  America 20,440,000 

An  increase  of  36  per  cent,  or $  5.431,000 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  83 

So  that  our  sales  to  China  have  decreased  21  per  cent,  but  our 
purchases  from  China  have  increased  36  per  cent.  Our  sales 
to  China  in  1905  were  48,500,000,  while  last  year  they  were 
only  20,500,000,  a  decrease  of  about  42  per  cent;  illustrating 
the  old  saying  that  trade  follows  the  flag,  as  American  ships 
only  carried  last  year  nine-tenths  of  one  per  cent  of  the  com- 
merce of  China. 

These  figures  bring  out  very  forcibly  the  fact  that  we  are 
buying  more  from  China  than  they  buy  from  us,  and  while 
their  trade  is  increasing  with  other  nations  their  purchases 
from  us  are  rapidly  decreasing.  The  question  which  has 
occupied  the  minds  of  the  commission  is  how  this  state  of 
affairs  can  be  changed.  The  conclusion  we  have  come  to  is — 
for  our  merchants  and  manufacturers  to  send  their  best  men 
to  China  to  work  up  trade,  or  better  still,  for  the  principals  of 
the  firms  to  go  and  make  a  personal  investigation  first,  and, 
taking  plenty  of  time,  to  thoroughly  understand  the  con- 
ditions, then  if  they  decide  that  a  profitable  trade  can  be 
carried  on,  send  the  best  man  they  have  to  work  it  up.  We 
cannot  too  strongly  recommend  this,  as  the  possibilities  are 
unlimited.  Please  keep  in  mind  that  in  going  to  China  you  are 
going  to  over  one-quarter  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  and 
as  they  are  just  changing  from  the  old  to  the  new  way  of  doing 
things,  now  is  the  opportune  time.  Other  nations  appreciate 
this  far  more  than  we  do;  for  instance:  France,  Germany  and 
Japan  each  subsidize  a  line  of  steamers  flying  their  own  flag 
to  engage  in  the  coastwise  trade  between  the  Chinese  cities  of 
Shanghai  and  Hankow,  not  to  speak  of  the  subsidies  they  all 
pay  for  a  direct  mail  service  from  their  countries  to  China. 

That  is  how  much  they  value  the  trade  of  China.  Our 
country  takes  no  interest  in  this,  as  to  get  a  letter  to  or  from 
China  it  has  to  pass  through  three  Japanese  ports — and  the 
deplorable  fact  is  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  navigation  of 
the  Yangtze  river,  Americans  had  all  the  trade,  as  all  the 
steamers  on  the  river  were  under  the  American  flag ;  now  there 
is  not  an  American  steamer  on  the  river.  To  some  of  you 
the  name  of  this  river  and  our  former  prestige  on  it  may  not 
appear  important,  but  when  we  say  to  you  that  one-sixth  of 
the  human  race  lives  on  this  river  and  its  tributaries,  we  hope 
you  will  see  the  importance  of  it,    as    we    have    by  personal 


84  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

examination.  As  an  illustration  as  to  whether  the  trade  is  of 
sufficient  importance  to  go  after — we  found  that  no  country 
in  the  past  ten  years  has  progressed  as  China  has,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  keep  informed  of  the  rapid  changes  that  are  taking 
place.  Fifteen  years  ago  they  had  ten  miles  of  railroad,  now 
they  have  six  thousand  miles;  eight  years  ago  the  postoffice 
handled  twenty-two  million  pieces  of  mail ;  last  year  it  handled 
two  hundred  and  seven  million  pieces.  China  has  adopted  a 
constitutional  form  of  government,  our  style  of  education,  and 
reforms  too  numerous  to  specify  here.  The  postoffice  and  the 
railroads  are  about  the  best  barometers  of  trade,  so  the  above 
figures  are  significant.  Another  example  of  the  rapid  develop- 
ment— three  years  ago  soyo  beans  had  never  been  exported  to 
Europe,  this  year  they  expect  to  export  1,250,000  tons,  valued 
at  $37,000,000;  sesimum  seed  was  unknown  five  years  ago, 
this  year  Hankow  will  export  over  200,000  tons  of  this 
valuable  grain,  bringing  into  the  country  practically  over 
$12,000,000.  None  of  these  products  went  to  the  United 
States. 

From  our  observations  on  this  trip,  we  cannot  overlook 
the  important  part  missions  have  played  in  the  development 
of  trade  in  China.  Unless  they  had  pioneered  and  opened  the 
w-ay  the  foreign  trade  would  be  a  very  negligible  quantity. 
In  this  connection  the  thousands  of  Chinese  young  men  who 
received  their  education  in  mission  schools — many  of  them 
that  we  met  occupying  high  places  in  government  and  com- 
mercial positions — bear  testimony  to  the  great  amount  of  good 
that  missions  are  doing  in  the  modern  development  of  trade 
and  commerce. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  we  make  the  following  recom- 
mendations : 

First.  It  will  only  be  by  the  individual  personal  efforts 
of  our  merchants  that  we  will  get  our  fair  share  of  the  com- 
merce of  the  Pacific. 

Second.  We  respectfully  demand  of  our  government  a 
change  in  our  navigation  laws  and  inspection  regulations  so 
as  to  permit  us  to  use  American  ships  in  the  development  of 
this  great  trade,  as  without  ships  our  commercial  development 
is  hopeless.      If  they  will  not  assist,  then  the  least  they  can  do 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  85 

is  not  to  hinder  and  prevent  us  from  getting  our  fair  share 
of  it — encourage,  but  do  not  discourage  us. 

Third.  And  further,  we  would  endorse  and  recommend 
our  Government's  poHcy  of  the  open  door  and  the  integrity 
of  China  as  essential  to  our  best  interests  and  the  development 
of  our  commercial  relations. 


PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  LEAVES  FOR  ORIENT  ON  S.  S. 
''SIBERL\,"  OCTOBER  4,  1911,  AS  SPECIAL  DEL- 
EGATE OF  THE  ASSOCIATED  CHAMBERS  OF 
COAIMERCE  OF  PACIFIC  COAST,  AND  THE 
PANAMA-PACIFIC  EXPOSITION  CO. 

DESCRIBES    IN    LETTERS    INCIDENTS    OF    VOYAGE,    AND    RESULTS 

ACCOMPLISHED 

ON  the  voyage  from  San  Francisco  to  Japan  and  China, 
as  on  all  trans-Pacific  steamers,  there  is  very  little  of 
importance  to  report.  Of  the  notables  on  board,  we  had 
an  English  Earl,  a  Japanese  Baron,  and  a  French  Count  and 
Countess,  and  over  thirty  missionaries.  The  Baptists  had  a 
party  of  twenty  going  to  various  parts  of  China;  and  there 
were  the  usual  number  of  globe  trotters  (American)  but  only 
a  very  few  business  men,  showing  that  the  Far  East  is  looked 
on  by  the  American  as  for  sight-seeing  rather  than  as  a  place  to 
develop  business. 

I  noticed  more  drinking  by  men  and  women,  this  trip, 
than  I  have  seen  for  some  time.  This  emphasizes  what  I  have 
long  thought :  that  the  Cunard  rule  that  captains  and  officers 
should  not  be  required  to  sit  at  the  tables  with  passengers, 
especially  where  drinking  is  going  on,  is  a  good  one. 

Forty  passengers  left  at  Honolulu;  more  than  half  the 
balance  left  at  Yokohama.  The  ship  was  very  light,  having 
very  little  cargo,  in  marked  contrast  with  the  excessive  demand 
for  tonnage  from  Columbia  River  and  Puget  Sound. 

After  leaving  Yokohama  for  Kobe,  I  was  reminded  that 
we  were  on  one  of  the  world's  highways  from  the  great 
number  of  tramp  steamers  we  passed  going  in  all  directions. 

On  this  trip  we  had  more  than  the  usual  number  of 
lectures  and  entertainments.  The  first  we  had  was  an  address 
on  International  Peace,  participated  in  by  Baron  Sokatana, 
Japan's  Finance  IMinister,  who  was  returning  from  the  Peace 
Conference  held  in  Berne,  Switzerland,  so  he  was  well  pre- 
pared and  equipped    to    talk    on    the    subject.     H.    C.  Tan 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  ^7 

represented  China.  He  is  returning  after  having  convoyed 
and  placed  in  American  schools  the  seventy  Chinese  Indemnity 
students.  Both  papers  which  they  read  were  very  good  and 
contained  much  interesting  information.  On  behalf  of  the 
United  States,  I  spoke  from  notes . 

After  leaving  Honolulu,  we  had  an  evening  on  Old  and 
New  China  at  which  I  presided.  Mr.  H.  C.  Tan  read  a 
paper,  and  Mr.  Price,  a  returning  missionary,  gave  a  very 
eloquent  address  on  the  religious  progress  made  by  New 
China.  Mr.  Tan  spoke  on  the  educational  improvement,  and 
I  reviewed  the  material  advancement  after  showing  what  great 
W'orks  were  done  twenty-five  hundred  years  ago  and  the 
tremendous  progress  made  during  the  last  ten  years. 

Sir  Archibald  Williamson  gave  us  a  lecture  on  South 
America,  on  which  subject  he  is  complete  master;  it  was  both 
interesting  and  instructive.  I  presided  at  this  meeting.  All 
the  meetings  were  fully  attended  by  a  very  appreciative 
audience. 

Then  we  had  a  vaudeville  show,  fancy  dre^s,  games  and 
sports,  so  that  the  voyage  was  a  very  enjoyable  one,  coupled 
with  nice,  warm  weather  and  a  smooth  sea. 

On  Sunday  we  had  two  religious  services  which  were  also 
well  attended. 

At  Yokohama  we  got  news  of  the  rebellion  in  China.  The 
Japanese  are  very  much  interested.  On  the  way  to  Kobe, 
we  had  a  discussion  on  this  subject.  I  gave  my  ideas  in  a 
short  address.  Two  missionaries  and  one  Chinese,  also, 
talked.  At  Yokohama  and  Kobe  I  saw  considerable  improve- 
ment going  on  in  the  harbors  in  the  way  of  providing  wharf 
accommodations  for  steamers.  A  great  deal  will  have  to  be 
done  yet  before  anchoring  in  the  harbor  is  given  up  and  cargo 
moved  by  lighters  as  at  present. 

Whenever  we  reached  the  Japanese  coast,  it  was  very  plain 
to  see  that  we  were  on  the  path  of  the  world's  commerce,  as 
we  were  never  out  of  the  sight  of  steamers  coming  and  going 
in  all  directions,  and  looking  at  it  from  past  experiences,  the 
increase  and  advancement  is  very  great  and  constantly  in- 
creasing. This  was  especially  noticeable  in  going  through  the 
Inland  Sea.  From  a  very  casual  glance  at  the  country  I  could 
see  many  new  factories  of  various  kinds  either  newly  erected 


88  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

or  in  the  course  of  construction.  Evidently  the  protective 
tariff  is  making  its  presence  felt.  They  are  in  the  midst  of 
the  rice  harvest  which  appears  to  be  very  good  and  means 
so  much  to  Japan. 

The  increase  in  the  Japanese  Merchant  Marine  is  quite 
noticeable,  showing  that  the  liberal  policy  of  the  government 
has  produced  the  desired  results. 

ADDRESS  ON  THE  PANAMA-PACIFIC  INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION 
AND  ITS  RELATION  TO  INTERNATIONAL  PEACE 

The  primary  object  of  the  Exposition  is  to  give  the  nations 
as  well  as  individuals  an  opportunity  to  show  their  wares  and 
merchandise  to  the  nations  of  the  world  and  thereby  increase 
their  trade  and  commerce;  also  to  bring  people  from  every 
land  to  see  and  know  what  others  can  produce  cheaper  than 
themselves.  There  are  also  many  who  visit  expositions  for 
pleasure  and  to  meet  those  from  foreign  countries  who  come 
either  for  business  or  pleasure,  so  that  the  meeting  place  gives 
them  the  opportunity  of  getting  acquainted,  and  nations  are 
by  this  means  drawn  closer  together. 

The  aim  of  the  managers  of  the  Exposition  is  to  get  the 
best  Oriental  exhibit  that  the  world  has  ever  seen — principally 
from  Japan,  China,  and  the  Philippine  Islands — and  by  so 
doing,  those  countries  will  all  be  drawn  closer  to  the  United 
States,  and  it  is  in  this  way  that  international  peace  will  be 
accomplished.  The  first  principle  of  trade  is  to  get  acquainted 
and  become  friendly  with  those  with  whom  you  trade.  In 
this  connection  I  would  call  your  attention  to  the  beneficial 
results  attained  by  the  visit  of  our  commercial  representatives 
to  Japan  three  years  ago,  and  by  your  representatives,  headed 
by  the  Grand  Old  Man  of  Japan,  Baron  Shibasawa,  making 
a  return  visit  to  the  United  States.  Therefore,  I  claim  friendly 
relations  precede  commerce,  and  commerce  binds  the  nations 
together;  but  war  destroys  commerce  and  friendly  relations. 
Now  the  great  object  to  be  attained  is  peace  between  Japan  and 
the  United  States,  and  if  this  Exposition  does  not  increase 
and  cement  the  peacefulness  and  good  will  which  now  exists 
between  us,  then  I  claim  that  the  Exposition  will  have  been 
a  failure  and  the  time  and  money  lost.  The  keynote  is  that  the 
Exposition  provides  the  means  of  getting  our  nations  together 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  89 

and  getting  their  citizens  better  acquainted,  thereby  increasing 
their  friendship  and  finally,  increase  of  trade  naturally  follows, 
provided  one  nation  has  to  sell  what  the  other  wants  to  buy, 
and  the  great  volume  of  trade  going  on  between  us  at  the 
present  time  demonstrates  beyond  a  doubt  that  each  has  what 
the  other  requires. 

It  may  not  have  occurred  to  the  directors  and  promoters 
of  the  Exposition,  but  I  am  sure  that  when  it  is  put  before 
them  they  will  see  that  the  great  object  to  be  attained  is 
international  peace,  and  I  hope  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  an  arbitration  treaty  will  be  entered  into  such  as  Pres- 
dent  Taft  drafted  with  Great  Britain  and  France,  but  not  like 
the  empty  husk  that  Congress  offered  as  a  substitute  after 
takinp-  all  the  meat  out  of  the  cocoanut. 


October  15 — I  presided  at  a  meeting,  the  subject  being 
"Old  and  New  China." 

OLD  AND  NEW   CHINA 

Mr.  H.  C.  Tan  (Tan  Hui  Chan),  of  the  Imperial  Chung 
Hua  School,  Peking,  who  was  returning  from  America  after 
having  placed  seventy  Indemnity  students  in  schools,  read 
a  paper  on  Chinese  education.  Mr.  Price,  of  Hanking,  also 
delivered  an  address  on  the  religious  advancement  that  has 
been  made,  while  I  spoke  on  the  material  improvement  that 
has  been  made  in  the  last  ten  years,  and  also  sketched  the 
greatness  of  China  before  the  Christian  era. 

Young  Americans  going  to  China  for  the  first  time 
generally  tell  Chinese  gentlemen  that  they  propose  to  civilize 
China.  This  either  makes  the  Chinese  smile  or  feel  sorry 
for  the  young  man's  ignorance,  as  they  have  an  unbroken 
record  of  six  thousand  years,  and  some  of  their  works  that 
remain  to  this  day  are  the  wonder  of  the  world.  First,  the 
great  wall  of  China,  after  twenty-five  hundred  years  of  wear 
and  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  is  almost  as  perfect  as  it  was 
the  day  it  was  built.  The  arches  at  the  gateways  stand  as  the 
builders  left  them,  and  the  point  of  a  pen  knife  could  not  be 
put  in  a  crack  of  the  joints  of  masonry. 

At  Nanking  is  an  arch  with  an  inscription  on  it  recording 
the  fact  that  the  great  emperor  then  on  the  throne  passed 
through  it  twenty-six  hundred  years  ago,  and  there  it  stands 


90  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

as  on  the  day  it  was  completed.  Stones  so  large  are  in 
various  walls  that  even  with  our  modern  machinery  we  could 
not  lift  them. 

Next  is  the  Grand  Canal.  In  fact,  I  would  put  it  first, 
as  the  engineering  skill  required  to  make  the  surveys  and  take 
the  levels  show  us  conclusively  that  they  had  attained  a  very 
high  degree  of  proficiency  in  the  professions  that  people 
generally  think  did  not  exist  even  at  a  very  much  later  date, 
as  the  location  shows  the  greatest  skill.  It  extends  across  the 
Empire  from  Peking  to  Hanchow,  a  distance  of  fifteen 
hundred  miles,  crossing  several  large  rivers :  the  Yellow  river, 
Yangtse  river,  and  uses  a  stretch  of  the  Soochow  and  the 
Pei  Ho  rivers. 

From  Peking  a  descent  of  about  one  hundred  feet  is  made 
to  get  down  to  the  level  of  the  Pei  Ho.  This  is  accomplished 
by  a  stone  slip  way  or  slide.  Boats  are  hauled  up  with  a 
large  plated  bamboo  rope,  the  power  being  the  men  on  a  large 
capstan.  There  are  three  other  such  slip  ways  or  locks  on 
the  way  to  Hanchow,  where  the  descent  to  tidewater  is  about 
eighty  feet,  accomplished  in  the  same  manner.  The  sides  of 
the  canal  were  found  to  wash  in  after  it  w^as  built,  so  wherever 
it  was  narrow,  it  was  paved  with  cobble  stones  as  a  causeway. 
It  crosses  a  plain  in  Shangtung  Province  where  an  embank- 
ment had  to  be  made  to  raise  it  thirty  to  thirty-five  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  plain,  the  canal  being  on  top  of  this  embank- 
ment, thereby  saving  locks.  This  canal  is  crossed  by  a  great 
number  of  bridges.  All  that  I  have  seen  are  intact.  In  no  case 
have  I  seen  any  of  them  settling  or  getting  out  of  shape, 
showing  the  perfect  work  that  was  done  by  the  Chinese  when 
the  north  of  Europe  and  Britain  was  still  in  the  stone  age. 

A  tow  path  is  on  both  sides,  as  most  of  the  boats  are  pulled 
along  by  men,  and  where  small  streams  enter  the  canal,  they 
are  bridged  over  with  one  stone  from  thirty  feet  to  sixty  feet 
long,  according  to  the  width.  The  stones  are  four  to  five 
feet  wide,  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  thick,  and  are 
slightly  curved  so  the  centers  are  two  to  three  feet  higher 
than  the  ends. 

The  canal  was  built  primarily  to  carry  the  tribute-rice  to 
Peking,  but  through  all  those  ages  a  vast  commerce  has  been 
passing  from  one  city  to  another,  as  many  very  large  cities. 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  9 1 

in   fact  about   all   the  largest   and   most   important  cities  of 
Central  China,  are  reached  by  this  canal  or  its  tributaries. 

Then  the  literature  of  Old  China  and  the  sayings  of  Con- 
fucius and  Mensus  have  been  a  power  for  good  to  China,  even 
to  the  present  day.  By  following  the  precepts  of  Confucius 
it  has  held  China  together  for  a  longer  time  than  any  other 
nation  on  earth.  His  high  moral  code  has  kept  the  nation 
up  to  a  high  plane  of  morality  not  found  in  other  ancient 
nations.  His  sayings  closely  resemble  the  proverbs  of  our 
Bible,  and  while  he  proclaimed  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
he  said  there  was  a  great  beyond  of  which  he  knew  nothing; 
so  his  teachings  left  his  followers  at  a  time  they  needed 
instruction  the  most :  namely,  when  they  are  about  to  leave 
this  world.  But  Jesus  supplied  this  vital  deficiency  and  in- 
structed us  in  the  world  to  come.  There  is  a  great  similarity 
in  their  teachings.  Jesus  said :  "Do  unto  others  as  you  would 
have  them  do  unto  you."  Confucius  said :  "Do  not  unto 
others  what  you  would  not  have  them  do  unto  you." 

Now  as  to  Modern  China:  What  has  been  accomplished 
in  the  past  ten  years,  as  the  real  change  to  modern  improve- 
ments can  only  be  said  to  date  back  to  immediately  following 
the  Boxer  uprising. 

Politically,  they  have  a  constitutional  form  of  government, 
while  the  Provincial  Assemblies  have  erected  buildings  in  all 
the  provinces  and  the  Assemblies  held  meetings  last  year. 
Nothing  more  has  been  accomplished  than  to  formulate  rules 
and  plans  for  the  conduct  of  the  government.  The  Senate, 
also,  met  in  Peking  for  the  same  purpose,  and  as  was  to  be 
expected,  had  several  clashes  with  the  old  officials,  as  it  will 
be  hard  and  take  time  to  get  an  entirely  new  form  and 
system  to  take  the  place  of  the  old.  However,  it  must  be  said 
so  far  they  have  succeeded  as  well  or  better  than  could  have 
been  expected.  Suffice  to  say  a  great  deal  has  to  be  done  yet 
which  calls  for  much  patience  and  tact  from  those  in  power. 
The  complete  change  of  the  government  of  one-fifth  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  globe  is  a  gigantic  undertaking  and  can  be 
accomplished  in  China  better,  and  with  less  bloodshed,  than 
in  any  other  country  in  the  world.  We  cannot  help  but  admire 
their  energy  and  get-up  in  trying  to  do  what  would  seem 
impossible  to  almost  any  other  nation.     If  we  should  attempt 


92  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

to  change  the  American  manner  of  government,  see  what  a 
mix-up  we  would  have. 

The  old  educational  system  that  prevailed  from  time 
immemorial,  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen  of  the  late  Empress 
Dowager,  was  abolished  and  a  new  era  began,  by  adopting  the 
Western  system  of  education.  Examination  halls  have  been 
demolished  and  the  modern  school  houses  have  taken  their 
places  all  over  the  Empire,  and  the  aim  of  the  government  is 
to  have  universal  and  compulsory  education,  but  it  will  take 
a  long  time  before  it  is  possible  to  get  even  a  sufficient  number 
of  teachers,  but  great  progress  has  already  been  made  in  the 
past  three  years.  They  realize  that  the  use  of  the  ballot  must 
be  preceded  by  education.  Twelve  years  ago  they  had  twelve 
miles  of  railroad.  The  official  reports  of  1910  tell  us  that 
six  thousand  miles  of  road  were  carrying  passengers.  Nothing 
that  is  being  done  will  make  a  United  China  as  fast  as  getting 
all  parts  of  the  Empire  united  by  railroads.  This  will  soon 
make  it  necessary  for  one  language  and  not  a  separate  dialect 
for  every  city  or  province. 

Water  works  for  the  large  cities :  Several  of  the  larger 
cities  have  recently  installed  modern  systems.  Much  remains 
to  be  done  in  this  as  well  as  in  the  system  of  sewerage,  in 
which  latter  there  has  been  some  progress  made,  but  it  has 
been  slower  than  in  other  improvements. 

Electricity  has  made  considerable  advancement,  and  many 
of  the  large  and  several  of  the  small  cities  are  now  lighted 
with  electricity.  The  plants  are  generally  German  and  Eng- 
lish, although  it  is  conceded  the  American  system  is  the  best, 
but  lack  of  push  in  this  direction  has  given  the  other  manu- 
facturers the  lead.  All  of  the  large  cities  have  more  or  less 
efficient  plants  and  the  use  of  electricity  is  becoming  general. 

But  it  is  in  the  statistics  of  the  postoffice  that  we  get  the 
most  astonishing  results.  In  fact,  if  the  report  was  not  official, 
it  would  be  treated  as  incredible.  I  don't  think  that  anything 
will  show  the  tremendous  advancement  that  the  nation  has 
made  as  the  following : 

Post  offices  Pes.  mail  handled       Parcels  handled 

In   1 901 176  10,500,000  126,800 

In   1910 5352  355,000,000  3,766,000 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  93 

I  claim  that  the  reHgiotis  results  are  in  about  the  same 
ratio.  The  number  of  converts  recorded  does  not  tell  the 
actual  results,  and  as  thousands  of  converts  for  reasons  well 
known  do  not  come  out  and  profess  Christianity  on  account 
of  their  complicated  family  relations,  official  positions,  etc.,  it 
is  commonly  said  that  only  coolies  are  converts.  I  can  testify 
to  having  found  men  in  the  highest  positions  in  the  land 
earnest  Christians,  although  making  no  public  demonstration 
of  Christianity. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  making  per- 
manent and  rapid  progress.  The  larger  cities  are  having  them 
introduced  and  several  buildings  are  in  course  of  construction. 
The  Shanghai  building  is  full  to  overflowing  and  a  new  ad- 
dition will  be  erected  this  year.  Thirty-six  thousand  dollars 
was  subscribed  by  Chinese  to  keep  up  this  efficient  and  worthy 
work. 

I  find  there  is  a  great  lack  of  information  by  Americans 
of  China,  and  in  China  of  America,  and  the  only  way  this  can 
be  changed  is  for  each  nation  to  visit  the  other's  country,  and 
the  more  of  this  that  is  done,  the  closer  and  more  friendly 
will  the  relations  of  the  two  nations  become. 

I  have  the  honor  to  carry  with  me  an  invitation  extended 
to  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China  to  visit 
the  United  States  next  March.  It  is  proposed  to  have  them 
visit  the  principal  cities  of  our  country,  the  itinerary  covering 
eighty  days  and  about  twelve  thousand  miles  of  railroad  travel. 
This  is  done  with  a  view,  not  so  much  of  developing  com- 
merce, as  to  create  and  promote  a  better  and  stronger  inter- 
national friendship  and  good  will,  following  up  our  Savior's 
advent  to  this  earth  of  "Peace  on  Earth  and  Good  Will  to 
Men." 


94  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

ON  THE  VOYAGE  ROBERT  DOLLAR  WROTE  THE 
FOLLOWING  LETTERS  AND  ARTICLES 

On  S.  S.  "Siberia"  on  zvay  to  Kobe, 

October  22,  1911. 
R.  B,  Hale,  Esq. 

San  Francisco. 

My  Dear  Sir :  I  was  unfortunate  in  only  having  Saturday 
afternoon  in  Tokyo  and  it  rained  hard  all  day,  but  very  for- 
tunate in  seeing  all  that  my  time  permitted.  Arriving  at 
noon,  I  went  to  the  Foreign  Office,  where  by  wireless  appoint- 
ment, I  met  Viscount  Uchida,  but  we  had  not  commenced 
Exposition  talk,  when  an  urgent  message  arrived  from  the 
Emperor  requesting  his  presence  at  the  Palace  on  the  Chinese 
troubles,  so  he  left  at  once,  but  put  our  business  in  the  hands 
of  the  Vice-Minister,  Baron  Ishii,  whom  you  know.  He 
explained  that  the  Exposition  had  been  discussed  and  had 
been  divided  between  their  office  and  the  Minister  of  Agri- 
culture and  Commerce  and  that  they  had  not  definitely  decided 
what  part  each  would  take.  The  Minister  of  Agriculture 
explained  that  he  will  have  to  introduce  the  Bill  in  the  Diet 
to  appropriate  the  money.  Both  said  on  my  return  from  China 
that  they  would  have  it  all  worked  out  and  would  be  prepared 
to  fully  discuss  it. 

The  Foreign  Office  made  an  appointment  for  me  to  meet 
Baron  Shibasawa  at  his  office.  I  had  a  very  pleasant  and 
satisfactory  talk  with  him.  He  said  it  was  a  great  satis- 
faction to  them  that  you  appointed  a  commissioner  whom 
they  all  knew  so  well.  He  and  Mr.  Nakana  also  said  com- 
plimentary things  which  I  will  not  repeat.  The  result  of  this 
conference  was  that  he  will  not  leave  anything  undone  that 
is  in  his  power  to  do,  and,  inasmuch,  as  he  is  the  "Grand  Old 
Man  of  Japan"  that  means  a  great  deal  more  than  appears 
on  the  surface.  To  show  you  how  much  I  got  him  enthused, 
he  said  when  it  became  necessary  that  he  would  go  to  San 
Francisco  and  get  the  leading  men  of  the  last  party  to  accom- 
pany him  and  w^e  could  have  a  re-union  of  our  party  with 
theirs.  I  also  discussed  International  Peace.  He  and  I  are 
exactly  of  the  same  mind :     We  must  all  do  our  share  in 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  95 

trying  to  bring  about  such  a  desirable  result.  He  told  me 
that  Professor  Jordan  had  done  a  lot  of  good,  and  he  has  all 
his  addresses  (translated).  He  requested  me  to  keep  him 
posted  on  my  movements  and  he,  also,  would  have  matters 
in  good  shape  on  my  return. 

I  then  saw  President  Nakana  at  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. He  had  called  a  meeting  of  the  Chamber,  so  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  reaching  the  principal  merchants.  After 
talking  to  them,  they  all  said  they  would  make  this  the  best 
exhibit  ever  shown  by  Japan.  President  Nakana,  after  the 
meeting,  assured  me  he  was  determined  to  make  this  the 
greatest  success  of  any  international  affair  they  had  ever 
attempted.  I  explained  to  them  all.  that  we  depended  upon 
Japan  more  than  upon  any  other  nation. 

Although  it  was  dark,  Mr.  Yamamota,  of  ^Mitsui  &  Co., 
was  still  waiting  for  me  at  his  office.  I  wound  up  the  day 
with  an  hour's  talk  with  hiuL  They  expect  to  make  the  largest 
exhibit  of  any  individual  Japanese  firm.  He  told  me  he  would 
also  make  it  his  business  to  urge  his  countrymen  everywhere 
to  do  their  very  best  for  us,  and  next  to  Shibasawa,  I  consider 
him  the  strongest  commercial  leader  in  the  Empire.  If  my 
sons  have  not  yet  given  it  to  you,  get  his  letter  to  me  on  this 
business;  it  arrived  in  San  Francisco  after  I  left  home. 

Among  other  things.  I  found  out  that  on  account  of  the 
finances  of  the  government,  they  are  urging  the  merchants 
to  relieve  them  by  private  exhibits,  and  with  that  object  in 
view,  they  have  formed  The  Foreign  Exhibitors  Association 
with  Viscount  Oura  as  President.  President  Nakana  is  one 
of  the  Directors.  They  are  going  to  be  an  important  factor 
in  our  negotiations.  Everywhere  I  went  I  was  always  met 
with  the  questions : 

1.  What  is  your  government  going  to  do  about  per- 
mitting our  people  to  visit  your  country? 

2.  What  are  your  labor  unions  going  to  do  about  per- 
mitting our  men  to  put  up  our  own  buildings? 

3.  Will  your  immigration  authorities  be  reasonable  in 
permitting  us  to  bring  men  to  erect  buildings  and  install  and 
care  for  exhibits  ? 

I  was  reminded  of  the  treatment  of  Japanese  at  St.  Louis 
and  Seattle.     To  all  these  questions,  I  replied  by  reading  the 


96  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

last  clause  of  your  letter  to  me,  and  further  by  assuring  them 
that  no  indignities  will  be  tolerated  by  the  immigration 
officials,  and  that  I  knew  that  the  Directors  would  see  to  it 
that  everyone  coming  to  our  city  would  be  well  treated. 

Tomorrow  I  will  see  Matsukata  and  the  officials  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Kobe.  I  was  very  sorry  that 
Ambassador  O'Brien  had  left,  and  having  only  a  charge-de- 
affairs,  I  did  not  see  him. 

Truly  yours, 

Robert  Dollar. 


PANAMA   CANAL   TOLLS 

An  important  meeting  was  held  in  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, San  Francisco,  the  second  of  October,  when  this  ques- 
tion was  fully  considered  by  our  Congressmen,  Senators,  and 
merchants.  The  sentiment  was  strongly  for  free  tolls  for 
American  ships,  although  some  doubt  was  expressed  as  to 
whether  American  ships  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  would 
be  exempt.  So  as  to  get  the  general  public  informed  on  this 
important  subject,  a  campaign  of  education  should  be  in- 
augurated Avith  a  A'iew  of  getting  exact  facts  before  the  people. 
At  a  meeting,  the  statement  was  made  that  the  Danube  or 
Suez  Canal  measurement  of  steamers  was  much  more  than  the 
American.  In  looking  up  this  matter,  I  find  that  in  cargo 
steamers  this  is  not  the  case.    For  concrete  example: 

Net  British     Net  Suez     Net  Am'c'n. 
The  "Bessie  Dollar" ....  2797  tons  3572  3679 

The  "Hazel  Dollar" 2803  tons  3485  3582 

It  will  be  seen  that  for  modern  cargo  steamers  the  Ameri- 
can measurement  is  a  little  larger.  The  cargo  steamers  will 
use  the  canal  most,  and  in  comparing  the  dues  with  Suez,  the 
measurement  is  important.  The  Suez  dues  have  been  reduced 
to  six  and  three-quarter  francs,  equal  to  $1.35.  As  this  is 
the  second  reduction  in  the  past  two  years,  more  will  follow 
preparatory  to  meeting  the  competition  from  the  Panama 
Canal. 

From  the  Orient  to  Europe,  Hong  Kong  is  the  dividing 
line,  as  to  distance;  ports  north  of  that  line  being  nearer  by 


e^ 


r 


n 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  97 

way  of  Panama ;  ports  south  being  nearer  by  way  of  Suez ; 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  existing  Hnes  have  all  their 
connections  made  by  way  of  Suez,  as  they  have  the  Straits 
Settlement  and  India,  besides  Mediterranean  ports  on  the  way, 
so  that  it  will  require  considerable  inducement  to  get  them  to 
change.  In  fact,  the  Panama  tolls  will  have  to  be  considerably 
less  than  Suez  or  they  will  not  change,  so  our  government  is 
face  to  face  with  ordinary  business  competition  as  far  as  the 
Far  Eastern  situation  goes. 

It  has  been  stated  that  tolls  should  be  high  enough  to  pay 
interest  on  the  investment.  The  question  is  what  investment 
should  be  met  by  the  tolls.  The  canal  was  a  naval  necessity 
on  account  of  the  great  importance  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and 
we  could  not  get  on  without  it  unless  we  doubled  our  navy. 
Therefore,  I  claim  that  one-half  of  the  cost  belongs  to  and 
should  be  absorbed  by  the  Navy  Department  just  as  much  as 
if  they  had  built  another  fleet,  and  all  that  the  commercial  part 
of  the  canal  should  pay  would  be  interest  on  half  the  cost. 
No  doubt  there  will  be  commerce  enough  to  do  this,  but  to 
load  it  down  with  the  entire  cost  and  hope  to  get  tolls  enough 
out  of  it  to  pay,  will  result  in  bitter  disappointment.  Let  the 
defense  of  the  nation  pay  its  proper  proportion.  Our  inter- 
state commerce  should  not  be  taxed  any  more  than  at  Sault 
Ste.  ]\Iarie.  where  no  tolls  are  charged  either  for  Canadian  or 
American  vessels  passing  through  it. 

It  must  be  impressed  on  the  public  that  if  dues  are  charged 
on  vessels  engaged  in  the  American  coastwise  trade,  that  what- 
ever tolls  are  paid  by  the  vessels  will  have  to  be  added  to  the 
freight,  so  in  the  end  the  public  must  pay  for  it. 

Another  point  worthy  of  consideration  is  that  the  railroads 
will  not  sit  down  quietly  and  see  no  charge  made  for  tolls,  but 
will  do  their  best  to  get  them  as  high  as  possible.  No  doubt 
their  influence  will  be  felt  in  Washington  when  the  matter  is 
under  consideration. 

Let  ever}'one  do  their  best  for  no  tolls  on  American  vessels 
engaged  in  the  coastwise  trade. 


98  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

The  Business  Men's  League,  Chicago,  III. 

AMERICAN  MERCHANT  MARINE  IN   FOREIGN  TRADE 

I  read  on  your  letter  head  the  following:  "American 
ships,  American  built,  American  manned  for  American  com- 
merce." 

Theoretically,  this  is  right  and  with  all  of  which  I  agree 
provided  it  can  be  carried  out,  but  I  claim  that  it  is  utterly 
impracticable  for  the  following  reasons : 

First,  in  the  building  of  ships  or  first  cost,  our  politicians 
and  others  who  do  not  know  or  those  who  willfully  distort 
the  truth,  all  tell  us  that  it  only  costs  25%  to  30%  more  to 
build  ships  in  an  American  yard  than  in  a  British  yard.  What 
are  the  facts?  I  have  just  built  in  Scotland  a  steamer  423 
feet  long,  54  feet  beam  with  engines  of  2500  horse  power  and 
of  8880  tons  dead  weight  capacity.  The  price  ready  for  sea 
was  $250,000.00.  Inquiry  from  American  yards  brought  out 
the  information  that  it  could  not  be  built  for  less  than 
$600,000.00  Now  to  build  this  vessel  in  an  American  yard 
and  to  permit  her  to  meet  the  keen  competition  in  the  foreign 
trade.  Congress  must  pay  the  builders  a  subsidy  of  $350,000. 
I  need  not  ask  you  will  they  do  it,  the  answer  is  plain  on  the 
face  of  it.    They  mill  not. 

Then  after  we  get  the  American  ship,  we  are  met  with  as 
great  obstacles  in  the  way  of  increased  operating  expenses. 
I  will  again  leave  the  realm  of  theory  in  which  so  many 
discussing  this  subject  resort  to  and  get  down  to  actual  re- 
sults. The  American  steamers  "Hyades"  and  "Pleiades," 
5,000-ton  capacity,  one  year's  cost  to  operate  for  wages  and 
board,  each  $32,940.00.  The  British  steamers  "Bessie 
Dollar"  and  "Hazel  Dollar"  of  7,220  tons  capacity,  wages  and 
board  one  year,  $16,000.00  each,  an  excess  of  $16,940.00  a 
year  on  wages  and  board  alone.  Again  I  ask  who  is  going 
to  pay  the  American  shipowner  this  amount  to  enable  him  to 
meet  the  world's  competition?  If  any  one  disputes  those 
figures,  I  can  give  detailed  information  from  my  books  and 
those  of  the  Boston  Tow  Boat  Co. 

Then  we  have  to  count  on  our  government  regulations  and 
restrictions  which  during  the  course  of  a  year  run  into  a  lot 
of  money.      By  our  method  of  measuring  ships,  we  are  com- 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  99 

pelled  in  foreign  ports  to  pay  from  30%  to  35%  more  for 
dockage,  pilotage,  dry  docking,  and  all  charges,  that  are  based 
on  the  ship's  measurement.    For  example : 

Net  British  measurement  of  the  "Hazel  Dollar"  is  2803  T. 
Xet  American  measurement  of  the  "Hazel  Dollar"  is  3582  T. 
Net  British  measurement  of  the  ''Bessie  Dollar"  is  2797  T. 
Net  American  measurement  of  the  "Bessie  Dollar"  is  3679  T. 

I  have  tried  to  find  out  the  reason  for  penalizing  our  ships 
in  foreign  countries,  but  have  failed  to  get  any  satisfactory 
reply.  I  have  been  told  by  government  officials  that  they 
know  how  to  measure  a  ship  and  require  no  instructions  from 
foreigners.  \\^ith  this  and  many  other  unjust  discriminations 
our  Merchant  ^^larine  in  the  foreign  trade  has  been  legislated 
off  the  ocean. 

Then  in  the  manning  of  American  vessels,  we  are  comr 
pelled  to  carry  useless  men.  I  use  this  term  as  no  other  nations 
have  to  carry  them.  One  extra  engineer,  three  oilers  and 
three  water  tenders.  The  three  last,  even  the  name  is  unknown 
in  foreign  freight  steamers.  Those  seven  men  cost,  wages 
and  board,  $6,000.00  a  year. 

I  will  not  trouble  you  with  the  unreasonable  exactions  of 
our  inspection  requirements,  which  no  other  nation  requires — 
they  would  fill  a  page — and  there  are  many  important  and 
vital  requirements  which  are  left  out,  so  that  our  inspection 
regulations  require  to  be  remodeled  from  top  to  bottom. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  I  say  that  under  existing  con- 
ditions and  laws,  an  American  ]\Ierchant  Marine  to  engage 
in  the  foreign  trade  is  impossible.  A  half  loaf  is  better  than 
no  bread,  and  I  claim  that  the  only  way  we  can  get  a  Merchant 
]\Iarine  is: 

1.  To  allow  us  to  buy  our  ships  where  we  can  get  them 
the  cheapest. 

2.  Permit  us  to  man  them  as  our  competitors. 

3.  Change  our  laws  and  regulations  to  conform  to  those 
of  our  competitors,  preferably  to  those  of  Great  Britain  under 
whose  flag  more  than  half  of  the  steam  tonnage  of  the  world 
is  operated. 

I  would  remind  you  that  it  is  not  the  lack  of  enterprise  in 
shipowners  that  has  brought  us  to  the  humiliating  position 


lOO  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

we  find  ourselves  in,  as  I  have  a  list  of  ships  owned  by 
American  citizens  and  flying  foreign  flags  amounting  to 
1,652,716  gross  tons.  This  amounts  to  nearly  6%  of  the 
entire  steam  tonnage  of  the  world,  and  the  last  report  of  our 
vessels  in  the  foreign  trade  showed  that  they  had  dwindled 
down  to  less  than  600,000  tons.  You  will  all  admit  that  it 
is  dangerously  near  the  vanishing  point.  Did  it  ever  occur  to 
you  that  only  for  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  operating  five 
steamers  and  the  Hill  Lines  operating  the  Minnesota,  there 
would  not  be  an  American  steamer  in  the  foreign  trade  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean  flying  the  American  flag?  The  railroads  appear 
to  be  able  to  run  them.  Private  individuals  or  private  cor- 
porations could  not. 

Statistics  show  us  that  our  manufactures  are  increasing 
much  faster  than  domestic  consumption.  Therefore,  we  must 
develop  and  extend  our  foreign  commerce.  I  claim  this  will 
never  be  done  on  a  large  scale  without  our  own  ships,  so  we 
must  find  a  way  of  getting  vessels.  We  must  do  something 
and  at  once.  You  should  demand  of  Congress  to  enact  laws 
at  this  session  to  accomplish  the  desired  results.  On  this  trip 
I  am  making  to  Oriental  countries,  I  know  that  outside  of  the 
railway  steamers,  I  will  never  see  the  American  flag  on  a 
vessel  in  the  foreign  trade. 


Editor  of  ''Pacific  Marine  A^czvs," 
Seattle,  Washington. 

You  request  me  to  further  explain  why  Americans  own 
ships  and  fly  foreign  flags,  and  answer  the  following  questions : 

"A"  Question — Do  American  citizens,  including  myself, 
invest  in  foreign  steamers  under  foreign  registry  primarily 
because  they  are  cheaper  than  American  steamers  (probably 
45%  to  50%),  because  in  addition  to  reduced  first  cost,  capital 
charges,  and  other  fixed  charges  are  correspondingly  less? 

Ansiver — Yes.  The  cost  of  building  an  ordinary  tramp 
steamer  in  America  is  not  40%  to  50%  greater  than  in  Britain, 
but  over  100%.  Most  of  our  States  tax  ships:  foreign  nations 
do  not.  British  insurance  companies  sometime  ago  increased 
the  rate  of  premiums  on  American  vessels  1%  over  the  rates 
on  British  ships. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  lOI 

"B''  Question — What  are  the  actual  increased  statutory- 
charges  *E.  G.  Manning  Scale'  as  between  an  American  regis- 
tered vessel  and  a  foreign  registered  vessel  engaged  in  the 
trans-Pacific  trade? 

Anszi'cr — ''Manning  Scale" :  On  the  deck  department 
there  is  not  much  difference  except  that  the  officers  are  paid 
American  instead  of  European  wages  which  runs  about 
50%  to  60%  more,  but  on  our  British  ships  we  pay  full 
American  wages  to  all  our  officers  on  deck  and  in  the  engine 
room.  We  carry  Chinese  crews  at  the  same  rate  of  wages  as 
all  our  competitors. 

Engine  Room  Crezi' — Taking  an  8000-ton  (d.  w.)  steamer 
under  the  American  flag,   the  crew   is  increased  very  much 
over  their  foreign  competitors  in  the  following  particulars : 
I  extra  engineer,  including  board  $  75.00  per  mo. 

3  oilers,  including  board 210.00  per  mo. 

3  water  tenders,  including  board.  .    210.00  per  mo. 


$495.00  or  $5940.00  a  year 

Those  seven  men,  I  claim,  are  useless,  as  steamers  of  every 
other  nation  does  without  them.  Why  our  regulations  compel 
us  to  carry  them  has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained. 

Then  another  unreasonable  tax  on  an  American  ship  is  in 
the  American  measurement  which  is  from  25%  to  35%  more 
than  that  of  their  competitors,  so  that  an  American  ship  in 
foreign  port  pays  25%  to  35%  more  than  her  competitors 
for  pilotage,  dry  docking,  painting,  tonnage  dues,  wharfage, 
etc. ;  in  fact,  on  every  charge  that  is  based  on  a  rate  per 
registered  ton.  It  would  easily  fill  a  sheet  to  go  into  all  the 
details  imposed  upon  American  shipping  by  our  unreasonable 
laws  and  regulations,  but  the  foregoing  is  sufficient  to  show 
that  there  is  something  radically  wrong. 

"C"  Question — Do  American  registers  receive  any  relief 
in  national  public  dues  and  charges  as  compared  with  foreign 
registers? 

Ansi<.'er — None  whatever.  On  the  contrary,  we  are  handi- 
capped on  every  hand.  No  session  of  Congress  is  held  without 
several  bills  being  introduced  to  restrict  and  hamper  shipping 
until  now  it  can  truly  be  said  that  American  ships  in  the 
foreign  trade  are  a  thing  of  the  past. 


I02  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

"D"  Question — Are  not  increased  operating  expenses  other 
than  fixed  charges  equal  under  American  and  foreign  registry, 
at  least  in  domiciled  trans-Pacific  lines  under  British  register, 
and  do  such  lines  have  to  pay  the  Pacific  Coast  wages,  each 
having  the  privilege  of  engaging  Chinese  crews? 

Ansivcr — Operating  expenses:  I  have  answered  this  in 
my  answer  to  "B."  I  cannot  answer  whether  British  lines 
pay  American  wages,  but  I  know  of  several  who  have  their 
officers  engaged  for  three  years  at  British  wages.  Both 
British  and  American  ships  have  the  privilege  of  employing 
Chinese  crews. 

"E"  Question — What  are  the  relative  regulations  as  to 
providing  an  American  and  a  foreign  register  in  Hong  Kong 
and  what  is  the  practice? 

Anszcer — There  are  no  regulations  whatever  as  to  this. 
Hong  Kong  is  a  free  port  and  no  restrictions  are  imposed  on 
shipping.  I  think  that  the  customary  practice  is  to  outfit  and 
provision  ships  at  the  homeport  or  at  the  port  where  head- 
quarters are  established  except  in  certain  articles,  which  could 
be  obtained  much  cheaper  at  the  Oriental  end.  Our  custom 
is  to  provision  our  ships  at  the  loading  port  in  America,  the 
idea  being  that  the  port  that  furnishes  us  with  the  cargo  is 
entitled  to  the  privilege  of  selling  us  our  stores. 

Your  correspondent  adds — Finally,  can  Mr.  Dollar  sustain 
a  case,  that,  excluding  increased  first  cost,  etc.,  is  there  any 
great  disadvantage  or  increased  material  expenses  in  operat- 
ing steamers  under  the  Navigation  Laws  of  the  United  States 
aside  from  subsidies,  etc.  ? 

Ansiver — I  have  given  you  several  material  reasons  why  it 
is  impossible  to  operate  American  tramp  steamers  in  the 
foreign  trade,  even  assuming  that  the  first  cost  was  the  same. 
The  competition  is  keen  and  any  vessel  handicapped  by 
$17,000.00  a  year  extra  and  additional  expenses  per  annum 
for  operating  expenses  alone  is  simply  down  and  out.  As  to 
how  this  amount  is  made  up,  I  would  refer  you  to  an  article 
which  I  wrote  for  the  "San  Francisco  Commercial  Neivs"  and 
published  October  4,  1909.  The  statements  made  at  that  time 
have  never  been  challenged,  although  it  has  been  reproduced 
by  hundreds  of  newspapers  in  many  lands. 

Robert  Dollar. 


o 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  IO3 


SHANGHAI 

N  arrival  at  Shanghai  we  found  the  rebehion  had  gained 
large  proportions,  especially  in  Hupeh  and  Honan  Prov- 
inces The  center  of  disturbances  was  at  Wuchang,  across  the 
river  from  Hankow  and  Hanyang.  The  first  move  was  the 
capture  of  the  city,  deposing  of  all  the  officials,  beheading  all 
who  had  not  escaped,  and  establishing  a  government  of  their 
own.  All  the  soldiers  and  many  of  the  officers  joined  the 
revolutionists,  so  they  started  out  with  a  nucleus  estimated  to 
be  about  3000  to  5000  well  trained  officers  and  men.  Evidently 
they  had  carefully  prepared  plans  to  go  by,  as  their  first  move 
after  capturing  the  capital  of  the  province  (Wuchang)  was  to 
cross  the  Yangste  river  during  the  night  and  surprise  and 
capture  the  Hanyang  Iron  and  Steel  Works,  adjoining  which 
was  the  government  arsenal  only  separated  by  a  wooden  fence. 
Up  to  a  short  time  ago  both  were  owned  by  the  government. 
All  this  w^as  accomplished  with  very  little  bloodshed.  This 
latter  move  was  most  important  as  the  arsenal  was  well  stored 
with  arms  of  all  kinds,  including  a  large  number  of  machine 
guns ;  in  fact,  lots  of  everything  that  an  army  recjuired,  in- 
cluding facilities  for  making  all  kinds  of  explosives  and  shells 
for  all  the  different  kinds  of  guns,  so  that  this  prize  was  the 
keynote,  or  rather  on  it  depended  in  a  great  measure  the 
success  of  the  revolution.  This  arsenal  has  been  kept  run- 
ning to  its  utmost  capacity  ever  since. 

A  hill  behind  the  arsenal  commanded  the  surrounding 
country,  including  Hankow,  Hanyang,  and  Wuchang.  They 
immediately  mounted  the  heaviest  guns  they  had  captured  on 
top  of  this  hill,  thereby  commanding  the  entire  district  within 
range  of  these  guns,  which  I  think  had  a  range  of  four  or  five 
miles ;  having  this  for  a  base,  they  drove  the  Imperial  troops, 
after  several  engagements,  down  the  river  bank  and  across 
Seven  Mile  Creek,  which  was  seven  miles  from  the  native  city 
of  Hankow,  thus  capturing  the  native  walled  city,  but  leaving 
the  foreign  concessions  intact,  they  having  notified  the  wirious 
Powers  that  they  would  not  molest  or  interfere  with  any 
foreigners.  All  the  buildings  outside  of  tlie  walled  city  and 
up  to  the  concessions   were  l)urned   and   destroyed.   als(~)  the 


I04  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

terminus  of  the  railroad,  and  for  fifty  miles  towards  Peking 
to  the  tunnel  was  also  captured  and  the  track  blown  at  the 
tunnel.  The  government  had  to  send  troops  principally  from 
Peking,  eight  hundred  miles  away,  which  took  some  time. 
^Meanwhile  the  revolutionists  were  not  idle;  they  also  were 
gathering  men  from  all  parts;  this  was  easy  as  practically  the 
whole  of  Central  and  South  China  was  with  them.  It  is  a 
fact  that  I  have  not  met  a  single  Chinese  in  all  this  district 
who  was  not  a  rebel.  Officials  of  the  government  do  not 
proclaim  it  abroad,  but  they  will  take  you  in  an  inner  room 
if  they  have  your  confidence,  and  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  tell 
you  they  hope  the  rebels  will  win.  I  am  perfectly  surprised  at 
not  finding  a  single  person  on  the  government  side,  that  is, 
amongst  those  outside  of  the  military.  When  the  government 
reinforcements  arrived,  fighting  began  in  earnest,  and  by  the 
good  discipline  of  the  government  troops,  and  being  well 
officered,  they  gradually  drove  the  rebels  back  toward  Hankow. 
Eye  witnesses  told  me  that  the  bravery  of  the  troops  on  both 
sides  could  not  be  surpassed,  but  the  rebels  lacked  a  sufficient 
number  of  experienced  officers,  and  in  many  cases,  on  the 
field  the  men  had  to  tell  each  other  what  to  do.  As  it  was, 
the  carnage  on  both  sides  was  fearful,  and  the  Red  Cross 
Hospitals  were  soon  filled  to  overflowing,  and  not  enough 
doctors  and  nurses  to  care  for  the  wounded.  No  time  was 
given  by  either  side  to  bury  the  dead,  and  as  the  same  ground 
was  twice  fought  over,  the  sanitary  conditions  were  fearful. 
As  each  side  was  well  entrenched,  the  dead  were  mostly 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  trenches,  although  Mr.  Howe  told  me  he 
saw  bodies  scattered  everywhere  on  the  fields  from  Hankow 
to  Seven  ^lile  Creek,  so  the  governmient  army,  by  its  better 
discipline  and  officers,  gradually  drove  the  rebels  into  the 
walled  city  of  Hankow,  then  by  a  terrible  shelling  caused 
them  to  cross  the  Han  River  to  the  Hanyang  Iron  Works  and 
the  arsenal,  backed  by  their  fort  on  the  hill,  so  that  at  this 
present  writing  both  armies  are  on  each  side  of  the  Han 
river  which  is  between  one-quarter  and  one-half  mile  wide. 
The  latest  reports  state  that  the  government  troops,  in  order  to 
chase  the  rebels  across  the  Han.  had  set  fire  to  the  walled 
city  and  that  it  was  practically  destroyed. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  IO5 

Meanwhile  government  artillery  trained  their  guns  on 
Wuchang,  and  Admiral  Sah's  lleet  had  come  up  so  as  to  get 
in  range,  and  they  were  shelling  the  city.  At  last  accounts 
the  place  was  untenable  and  was  in  a  fair  way  to  being  totally 
destroyed.  It  is  a  city  of  about  three-quarter  million  people. 
No  doubt  fire  will  finish  what  the  shells  did  not  do.  That  is 
about  the  situation  at  this  writing. 

Noi'CJtihcr  4,  191 1 — On  the  way  down  the  river  Kiukiang, 
Wuhu  and  Nanking  were  all  taken  by  the  rebels.  The  guns 
of  their  forts  were  trained  on  the  river,  sinking  two  or  three 
torpedo  boats  and  capturing  several  steamers  loaded  with 
ammunition  and  coal,  so  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  fleet  may 
run  out  of  coal  and  ammunition.  Five  hundred  tons  of 
ammunition  on  a  China  merchant  steamer  was  captured  and 
unloaded  here  at  Shanghai.  This  morning  was  momentous. 
The  Woosung  Forts  went  over  to  the  rebels ;  they  are  the  . 
largest  and  probably  the  best  in  China,  completely  command- 
ing the  Yangtse  and  Whampoa  rivers,  thereby  having  com- 
plete control  of  the  traffic  going  up  the  river  to  all  ports  as 
well  as  to  Shanghai.  At  the  same  time  the  Kiangnan  Arsenal 
and  dock  yard  at  Shanghai  were  taken  possession  of,  as  was, 
in  fact,  the  entire  city. 

The  casualities  are  only  reported  as  a  few  killed  and  fifty 
wounded.  The  Shanghai-Nanking  Railroad  station  is  out- 
side the  settlement,  therefore  in  China  proper,  and  very  un- 
wisely the  foreign  consuls  sent  some  foreign  volunteer  soldiers 
to  guard  it,  thereby  breaking  the  neutrality  laws  and  taking 
sides  with  the  government  against  the  rebels.  Had  this  un- 
wise and  indiscreet  act  been  persisted  in,  the  rebels  would  have 
started  the  fight  against  the  foreigners,  but  on  the  arrival  of 
a  company  of  rebel  soldiers  the  Europeans  were  withdrawn 
to  within  the  settlement  where  they  belong.  The  protection 
of  the  station  was  clearly  the  duty  of  the  Chinese  themselves 
and  not  for  us  to  undertake.  In  this  rebellion  there  is  no 
danger  whatever  of  any  trouble  between  Chinese  and 
foreigners  unless  it  is  brought  on  by  indiscreet  acts  such  as 
this.  This  is  a  time  above  all  others  when  it  requires  discreet 
and  level-headed  men  at  the  head  of  affairs,  and  it  looks  to  me 
that  if  the  foreigners  are  drawn  into  it,  it  will  be  through  their 
own  fault.     We  must  remain  neutral  and  not  take  sides  with 


I06  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

either  party,  and  in  justice  to  the  Chinese,  I  must  say  that  no 
other  nation  would  come  through  the  turmoil  of  completely 
changing  the  government  of  a  city  of  over  one  million  people 
without  great  bloodshed,  riots  and  disturbances.  In  Shanghai, 
on  the  contrary,  perfect  order  has  been  maintained. 

Orders  were  given  for  all  to  display  the  white  flag  of  the 
rebels,  and  this  noon  the  city  streets  were  one  mass  of  white 
flags.  In  the  forenoon  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three 
hundred  United  States  soldiers  landed  and  marched  through 
the  principal  streets  of  the  city.  They  were  certainly  a  fine 
looking  lot  of  fellows;  their  marching  and  drill  seemed  to  be 
perfect,  and  they  created  a  very  favorable  impression.  It  was 
done  evidently  at  the  request  of  the  chief  of  police  as  he 
preceded  them,  and  to  show  the  Chinese  that  there  was  a 
force  of  armed  foreigners  at  hand.  However,  I  do  not  con- 
sider this  necessary  as  every  one  was  most  orderly.  Great 
excitement  prevails  in  the  French  concession  where  we  live, 
the  police  are  all  armed  with  rifles  and  reinforced,  so  that 
one  or  two  are  at  every  corner.  Near  our  place  there  is  a 
small  park  where  a  company  of  them  are  on  duty,  which 
shows  that  every  precaution  has  been  taken. 

The  financial  situation  is  bad,  and  all  native  banks  are 
closed  to  prevent  a  run.  The  foreign  banks  are  going  to 
help  them,  and  all  stand  together  as  our  clearing  houses  in 
America  did  three  years  ago.  In  the  meantime  in  order  to 
carry  on  their  business,  they  are  opening  accounts  in  foreign 
banks  in  whom  they  have  perfect  confidence,  and  who  are 
very  strong,  having  plenty  of  money.  That  business  is  dis- 
located goes  without  saying;  and,  as  this  city  commands  the 
Yangtse  Valley  and  hostilities  are  carried  on  along  its  banks, 
it  paralyzes  a  great  deal  of  trade.  However,  everyone  is 
hopeful  that  when  all  this  trouble  is  settled  that  China  will 
enter  on  a  great  era  of  prosperity. 

In  Szechuen  where  the  rebellion  started  we  do  not  hear 
very  much,  and  in  Canton,  Kwangtung  province,  they  fool- 
ishly declared  a  republic  of  their  own,  but  that,  I  think,  is  now 
held  up. 

While  we  consider  a  republican  form  of  government  the 
best,  I  am  convinced  that  this  empire  is  not  ready  for  a 
republic  yet.     In  fact,  it  will  take  many  years  of  education 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  IO7 

before  it  will  be  safe  to  put  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  the 
people,  so  I  think  the  only  safe  way  would  be  a  limited 
monarchy,  retaining  the  Emperor  and  the  Prince  Regent  as 
nominal  heads.  This,  I  think,  would  work  out  satisfactorily; 
and  with  the  Provincial  Assemblies  in  every  province,  and 
the  Senate  or  National  Assembly  in  Peking,  and  having 
Ministers  responsible  to  the  National  Assembly  and  the 
people,  they  will  rightly  dispose  of  the  old  fossils  and 
incompetents,  putting  in  their  places  only  men  who  have 
ability  and  who  will  be  allowed  to  remain  in  office  if  they 
make  good. 

All  this  to  an  American  may  not  look  like  much  of  a 
change,  but  it  means  the  complete  upsetting  of  all  the  Chinese 
customs  that  have  been  in  vogue  for  thousands  of  years,  and 
the  removal  of  those  who  have  been  fattening  on  the  spoils 
which  came  from  oppressing  the  poor  people  of  this  country. 
Californians  can  better  understand  this  by  comparing  it  to  our 
State  Legislature.  What  a  change  and  revolution  it  would  be  if 
the  spoils  system  and  perquisites  were  all  abolished.  It  would 
put  our  politicians  all  out  of  business  and  an  entirely  different 
lot  of  men  would  be  in  our  legislative  halls.  So  in  this 
country  it  is  far  more  so,  as  grafting  has  been  going  on  for 
centuries,  and  the  men  who  now  will  take  command  will  be 
young  men  educated  in  and  accustomed  to  the  ways  of  foreign 
nations,  and  having  an  entirely  different  idea  of  government 
than  the  incompetent  and  antiquated  Manchus  who  have  been 
running  the  government  in  the  old  style  of  the  so-called 
squeeze.  The  whole  system  is  wrong  and  to  correct  it  they 
must  begin  at  the  top  and  reform  everything  from  there  down. 
Under  the  new  state  of  affairs  this,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
will  be  accomplished.  I  was  pleased  to  read  in  the  papers 
to-day  that  one  of  the  progressive  young  men,  Alfred  Tzee, 
had  been  appointed  Ambassador  to  the  United  States.  I  know 
him  personally,  and  I  know  his  ideas  are  progressive. 

We  took  a  trip  to  Hangchow  in  Chekiang  Province,  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south  of  Shanghai.  On  the  way 
to  the  railway  station,  on  a  narrow  road  we  met  a  great 
number  of  rebel  soldiers.  Evidently  they  had  just  been 
enlisted,  as  they  had  no  uniforms  or  arms,  but  each  one  had 
a  strip  of  white  cloth  sewed  to  his  coat.     This  showed  they 


I08  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

were  enlisted  rebel  soldiers.  They  were  preceded  by  two  large 
white  flags.  A  few  officers  in  uniform  were  in  charge.  When 
we  were  passing  a  big  crowd  of  them  in  a  very  cramped  place, 
one  of  the  auto  tires  blew  out  with  a  great  report,  which 
badly  scared  the  soldiers  and  mother.  They  all  jumped  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Imperial  troops  were  shelling  them,  and 
that  we  were  right  in  the  center  of  the  disturbance. 

This  is  the  first  time  we  have  passed  over  the  railway  to 
Hangchow,  having  gone  before  by  the  Grand  Canal  in  house 
boats.  We  were  very  much  impressed  by  the  richness  of  the 
country,  which  is  perfectly  level,  and  in  a  high  state  of  cul- 
tivation, in  fact,  it  looks  like  garden  patches.  The  provincial 
productions  are  rice,  and  mulberry  trees  for  producing  silk. 
The  whole  country  is  intersected  with  canals,  all  tributary  to 
the  Grand  Canal.  Water  was  the  only  means  of  conveying 
their  commerce.  There  are  no  roads,  the  nearest  approach 
being  a  pathway  of  paved  stones,  from  two  feet  to  four  feet 
wide;  the  stones  are  generally  four  inches  thick,  two  feet  wide 
and  six  feet  to  twelve  feet  long. 

On  the  way,  and  at  the  stations,  we  saw  soldiers  every- 
where drilling,  but  no  Imperial  troops,  all  were  rebels.  In 
fact,  all  this  part  of  Kiangsu  Province,  and  all  of  Chekiang 
Province  is  completely  gone  over  to  the  rebel  side.  Many 
soldiers  were  on  the  trains  going  in  both  directions,  showing 
there  was  great  activity. 

We  stayed  at  the  Hangchow  College,  which  is  three  miles 
further  up  the  river  than  Hangchow,  and  one  mile  from  the 
present  terminus  of  the  railroad  at  Sah  Kow.  When  this 
road  is  completed  it  will  reach  Ningpo  and  Foochow,  but  a 
bridge  three-quarters  of  a  mile  long  will  have  to  be  built  to 
cross  the  river  at  the  college  grounds.  As  this  will  cost  a 
lot  of  money,  it  is  holding  the  work  back.  Last  time  I  was 
here  a  commencement  had  not  been  made  to  build.  A  great 
transformation  has  been  made,  and  eight  commodious, 
modernly  constructed  buildings  are  now  on  the  grounds.  The 
dormitories  and  class-rooms  are  sufficient  for  two  hundred  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  students.  The  professors  are  com- 
fortably housed  in  good  houses,  and  while  some  things  about 
the  grounds  remain  to  be  done  yet,  I  found  what  had  been 
done,  was  well  and  very  substantially  built,  and  good  for  many 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  IO9 

years  to  come.  The  water  is  brought  from  springs  with 
bamboo  pipes,  which  must  soon  be  replaced  by  iron  pipes ;  and 
a  sewer  has  to  be  installed.  A  launch,  as  a  means  of  com- 
munication between  the  city,  will  also  have  to  be  provided, 
as  well  as  houses  for  the  native  teachers,  etc.,  etc. 

We  spent  Sunday  as  the  guests  of  Professor  Robert  Fitch, 
and  were  very  much  interested  in  the  religious  services.  At 
10  a.  m.  Mr.  Fitch  preached  in  Chinese  to  the  students,  the 
faculty  and  their  families.  I  was  greatly  surprised  at  the 
singing  of  the  students,  for  a  congregation  of  its  size,  I 
think  it  was  the  best  I  ever  heard.  They  sang  all  the  old 
familiar  tunes  to  Chinese  words.  I  noticed  at  subsequent 
meetings  that  the  organists  had  been  changed,  and  on  inquiry 
learned  that  sixteen  of  the  boys  could  play  well  enough  to  lead 
the  singing.  I  was  very  much  impressed  by  the  earnest 
manner  and  deportment  of  the  students. 

In  the  afternoon  at  3  o'clock  they  requested  me  to  address 
the  students  on  the  International  Relations  between  America 
and  China,  which  was  interpreted  by  President  Mattocks  as 
follows : 

INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS   BETWEEN   AMERICA  AND   CHINA 

"In  America  there  has  developed  a  very  decided  feeling 
of  friendship  for  China,  and  I  am  pleased  to  see  that  this 
same  sentiment  is  increasing  in  this  country  by  leaps  and 
bounds. 

"First,  I  will  take  the  attitude  of  our  government  in  the 
advocacy  of  the  integrity  of  China  and  the  'open  door' ;  then 
the  nationalization  of  the  Manchurian  railroads,  by  several  of 
the  powers  loaning  money  to  China  to  buy  and  own  the  rail- 
road, and  instead  of  absolute  ownership  then,  only  to  have  a 
mortgage  on  it.  Needless  to  say  these  plans,  especially  the 
last  one,  were  not  looked  on  by  the  Powers  with  much  favor, 
although  the  integrity  of  the  Empire  and  the  'open  door'  were 
accepted  in  a  half-hearted  way,  but  the  Manchurian  Railroad 
ownership  plan  was  rejected  in  such  strong  terms,  there  was 
no  mistaking  the  meaning.  Then,  also,  America  was  the  only 
country  to  return  the  Excess  Indemnity  which  China  was 
compelled  to  pay  under  duress,  and  which  she  did  not  owe. 


I  lO  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

Then,  second,  the  efforts  that  are  being  put  forth  by  in- 
dividuals. The  sending  of  students  to  America  has  a  very 
beneficial  effect  on  both  countries,  and  as  years  go  on  the 
wisdom  of  this  will  be  seen ;  in  fact,  now,  in  the  remodeling 
of  the  government  of  your  country  the  students  educated  in 
America  years  ago,  are  making  their  influence  felt. 

The  students  are  well  received.  On  arrival  at  San  Fran- 
cisco the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  looks  after  them,  arranges  and  provides 
for  their  comfort  and  pleasure,  showing  them  the  sights  of  the 
city,  and  providing  entertainment ;  the  customs  and  immigra- 
tion authorities  tender  them  every  courtesy.  I  took  the  last 
party  to  the  roof  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange,  and  showed 
them  the  city  from  the  top  of  a  fourteen-storied  building.  None 
of  them  had  ever  seen  a  building  over  half  the  height,  and  I  am 
safe  in  saying  that  none  of  you  ever  saw  a  six-storied  building. 

"When  our  merchants  visited  Japan  about  three  years  ago 
I  saw  the  great  benefit  of  it,  and  I  proposed  to  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  Shanghai  to  invite  a  party  of  our  business 
men  to  visit  your  country,  which  was  done  last  year.  You  will 
recollect  we  visited  Hangchow,  and  were  received  by  your 
Governor.  Xo  party  of  commercial  men  in  the  history  of 
the  world  ever  got  such  a  reception  as  we  received  from  your 
countrymen.  We  were  received  by  officials  from  the  Prince 
Regent  down.  This  visit  was  productive  of  great  good.  Now 
the  Associated  Chambers  of  the  Pacific  Coast  have  made  me 
the  bearer  of  an  invitation  for  fifty  of  your  prominent  business 
men  to  visit  our  country.  They  will  be  selected  from  every 
province.  We  propose  to  show  them  over  sixty  of  our  prin- 
cipal cities  and  our  manufactories  and  industries,  and  the 
distance  they  will  require  to  tra\-el  bv  special  train  will  be 
over  ii.ooo  miles,  and  the  time  in  America  will  be  over  three 
months.  We  look  forward  to  great  good  resulting  from  this 
visit  in  the  way  of  strengthening  the  ties  of  friendship. 

"Then  the  various  denominations  of  our  Pacific  Coast 
States  have  held  meetings  with  a  view  of  sending  a  minister 
and  a  layman  from  each  denomination  to  visit  Japan  and 
China,  to  endeavor  to  create  a  feeline  in  favor  of  having 
arbitration  treaties  between  America  and  your  country,  and 
also  Japan,  so  as  to  settle  national  disputes  by  arbitration  and 
not  by  war.     We  have  entered  into  such  treaties  with  Great 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  III 

Britain  and  with  France,  and  by  working  away  at  it,  we  hope 
to  secure  the  same  great  benefit  to  mankind,  by  a  closer  re- 
lation with  Japan  and  your  nation. 

"In  reference  to  the  great  tribulation  which  your  country 
is  passing  through  in  this  civil  war,  I  can  assure  you  that  when 
the  proper  time  comes,  you  will  find  America  foremost  in 
securing  peace  for  you,  and  in  endeavoring  to  get  for  you  a 
good,  stable  government,  and  from  past  experience  you  know 
that  America  does  not  want  and  will  not  have  any  of  your 
country,  and  as  far  as  lies  in  our  power  we  will  prevent  any 
other  nation  from  taking  any  of  your  country. 

*'I  assure  you  that  our  country  sincerely  sympathizes  with 
you  in  the  great  trial  this  nation  is  going  through,  but  we 
all  feel  that  out  of  great  evil  also  will  come  great  good.  In 
closing  I  cannot  do  better  than  ask  you  to  repeat  in  unison 
from  the  first  chapter  of  Joshua,  eighth  and  ninth  verses : 

"  'This  Book  of  the  Law  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth, 
but  thou  shalt  meditate  therein  day  and  night,  that  thou  mayest 
observe  to  do  according  to  all  that  is  written  therein,  for  then 
thou  shalt  make  thy  way  prosperous,  and  then  thou  shalt  have 
good  success.  Have  not  I  commanded  thee,  'be  strong  and 
of  good  courage,  be  not  afraid,  neither  be  thou  dismayed'  for 
the  Lord  thy  God  is  with  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest.'  " 

On  the  way  from  the  college  to  Hangchow,  which  is  called 
"The  City  of  Heaven,"  we  came  through  The  Dragon  Valley, 
a  very  beautiful  trip.  The  end  of  the  valley  near  the  river  is 
about  one-quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  and  it  gradually  narrows 
until  the  hillsides  only  leave  room  for  the  small  stream  and 
the  road.  The  whole  valley  is  under  cultivation,  even  the 
hillsides  are  terraced  with  stone-retaining  walls,  and  planted 
in  tea  bushes.  Some  rice  is  grown  in  the  bottom  land,  but 
outside  of  that  it  is  all  planted  in  tea.  For  centuries  the  tea 
used  by  the  Royal  Family  has  been  sent  each  year  from  this 
valley  to  Peking.  There  are  several  small  villages  at  different 
places,  and  all  seemed  to  be  quite  prosperous.  The  tea  was  in 
bloom,  and  in  many  places  the  farmers  were  digging  up  the 
ground  around  the  bushes  with  large  four-tonged  hoes. 

On  the  way  near  West  Lake  we  visited  Thunder  Peak 
Pagoda.     It  was  built  in  970  A.  D.,  and  was  originally  seven- 


112  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

Storied,  but  now  it  has  crumbled  until  it  is  only  four  stories 
high,  of  two  hundred  feet.  Originally  it  was  three  hundred 
and  fifty.  The  walls  are  very  massive — over  twenty  feet  thick, 
and  built  of  brick  with  stone  facings.  The  road,  or  rather  path, 
is  of  paved  stone,  about  four  feet  wide.  The  stones  are  mostly 
laid  crosswise,  being  four  feet  long.  There  are  a  number  of 
stone  bridges  across  the  stream.  Generally  the  stones  are 
the  length  of  the  span,  from  twenty  feet  to  forty  feet  long, 
two  and  one-quarter  feet  wide  and  ten  inches  to  twelve  inches 
thick.  Four  stones  abreast  make  the  bridge.  The  ends  rest 
on  stone  abutments.  The  whole  looks  as  if  it  would  last  for 
ever,  as  this  path  has  been  used  for  centuries. 

West  Lake  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  a  great  place  for 
boating.  We  intended  going  to  the  celebrated  temple  founded 
in  326  A.  D.  at  Lin  Ying,  a  few  miles  distant,  but  time  did 
not  permit.  I  was  anxious  to  have  seen  the  great  round 
timbers,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long  and  five  feet  in 
diameter  at  the  butt,  that  we  brought  from  the  Columbia 
River  to  re-build  this,  the  greatest  of  all  the  old  temples  of 
China,  which  the  Taiping  rebels  burnt  down,  but  is  now  being 
re-built  by  His  Excellency,  Sheng  Kung  Pao.  The  timbers 
are  all  standing  up  in  place,  and  the  work  of  closing  it  in  is 
in  progress.  It  took  an  army  of  men  weeks  to  get  those  large 
timbers  from  West  Lake  to  the  temple  site,  although  it  is  only 
three  miles  distant.  It  was  a  great  undertaking  to  stand  those 
enormous  trees  on  end  without  any  steam  power.  They  are 
by  far  the  largest  timbers  ever  brought  to  China. 

We  had  to  cross  the  city  to  get  to  the  railway  station,  and 
when  we  got  to  the  city  wall,  we  did  not  require  to  ask  if 
a  revolution  was  in  progress,  as  the  gates  were  strongly 
guarded  by  soldiers,  and  at  several  places  there  were  several 
large  barracks,  with  a  great  many  soldiers  in  the  vicinity,  and 
the  white  flag  of  the  rebels  was  in  evidence  everywhere.  The 
soldiers  are  wearing  the  Imperial  uniform,  but  have  a  white 
band  sewn  on  their  sleeves;  that  is  all  that  distinguishes  a  rebel 
from  a  loyalist.     Perfect  order  is  being  maintained. 

The  Harmonies  Pagoda  is  of  recent  date — 1894.  It  is 
thirteen  stories  high,  rising  to  nearly  five  hundred  feet,  and 
can  be  seen  for  many  miles.     The  first  one  was  built  over  one 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  II3 

thousand  years  ago,  and  was  destroyed  in  1862.  It  is  a 
hexagonal  in  shape,  and  the  priests  keep  it  clean  and  in  good 
order. 

November  21st,  191 1 — China,  the  old  slow  country,  has 
suddenly,  as  if  by  magic,  changed  to  be  the  new  fast  China. 
Changes  are  taking  place  so  fast  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
keep  up  with  them.  During  the  past  week  Yuen  Shi  Wai, 
with  Tong  Sha  Yei  as  assistant,  has  formed  a  new  cabinet 
of  which  five  are  reported  to  have  been  educated  in  America. 
Could  any  change  be  more  radical  from  the  old  men,  all 
Manchus,  and  opposed  to  progress  ? 

Up  to  the  present  Peking  has  remained  quiet,  but  how 
long  it  will  continue  no  one  knows.  Tientsin  will  likely  follow 
Peking.  At  Hankow,  Hanyang,  and  Wuchang  comparative 
cessation  of  hostilities  has  resulted  from  Yuan  Shi  Kai's  visit 
to  General  Li.  Admiral  Sah's  fleet  is  reported  as  having 
hoisted  the  white  flag  and  gone  over  to  the  rebels.  Nanking 
is  now  the  storm  center.  The  Tartar  General  with  fifteen  to 
twenty  thousand  troops  shut  the  gates  of  the  city  and  pre- 
pared for  siege.  Dr.  Gilbert  Reid,  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  got 
into  the  city  and  interviewed  the  General  with  a  view  of 
getting  an  armistice  of  two  weeks  to  try  to  arrange  peace. 
Unfortunately,  he  failed.  Now  the  rebels  are  gathering  in 
recruits  from  all  directions  to  Nanking.  They  are  reported 
to  have  twenty-five  thousand,  but  mostly  undrilled  men,  but 
past  experience  at  Hankow  has  demonstrated  that  they  can 
be  depended  upon  for  their  bravery,  going  to  the  extent  of 
foolhardiness,  so  when  the  attempt  is  made  to  capture  the 
city  there  will  be  a  great  slaughter.  They  have  offered 
$50,000.00  for  the  head  of  the  Manchu  General,  as  by  getting 
him  they  hope  to  get  the  garrison  to  join  the  rebel  forces.  If 
this  could  be  accomplished,  they  would  make  short  work  of 
it,  as  with  this  well  drilled  and  modernly  equipped  army  the)'- 
could  carry  everything  before  them,  and  seeing  that  the 
Manchus  have  no  chance  of  winning,  the  result  would  be 
accomplished  without  great  loss  of  life. 

The  Shanghai-Nanking  Railroad  which  at  first  refused  to 
carry  the  rebel  troops  has  now  placed  the  entire  equipment  in 
the  service,  and  steamers  are  carrying  arms,  ammunition,  and 


114  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

Stores  to  Chinkiang  by  the  river.  The  latter  place  will  be 
their  base  of  supplies. 

It  is  remarkable  how  quickly  they  get  recruits  and  uniforms 
for  them.  They  seem  to  get  men  without  any  effort,  as  more 
are  offering  than  they  can  accept.  They  seem  to  come  from 
all  directions,  and  as  they  have  possession  of  the  arsenals, 
this  furnishes  the  means  of  equipping  them.  I  understand 
they  are  running  night  and  day. 

Business  in  North  and  Central  China  is  suspended;  prac- 
tically nothing  doing  except  in  stores  for  the  army.  All  the 
native  banks  are  shut  up.  In  Shanghai  an  effort  is  being  made 
to  form  a  clearing  house  so  that  by  combination  they  could 
open  up.  It  is  a  case  similar  to  our  San  Francisco  banks 
during  the  panic.  If  any  of  them  opened  they  would 
immediately  be  depleted  of  their  money.  The  foreign  banks 
are  assisting  them  in  this.  The  foreign  banks  have  far  more 
money  than  they  have  any  use  for,  as  the  Chinese  have  been 
depositing  with  them  for  safety.  They  now  refuse  to  open  new 
Chinese  accounts. 

HONG  KONG,  November  21— We  found  Hong  Kong 
full  to  overflowing  with  European  visitors  so  that  the  hotels 
were  full ;  and  of  Chinese  refugees,  for  whom  there  was  not 
accommodations,  as  the  rents  for  native  houses  have  doubled  in 
three  months  and  the  city  and  harbor  present  a  very  busy 
appearance,  but  merchants  tell  me  that  great  amounts  of  mer- 
chandise are  going  right  into  the  warehouses  on  arrival,  as 
the  native  banks  in  the  interior  are  closed  and  money  to  pay 
for  the  goods  cannot  be  obtained,  so  the  merchants  are  holding 
them  and  doling  them  out  as  the  money  is  forthcoming.  Over 
one  million  sacks  of  flour  are  so  held. 

While  business  no  doubt  is  very  restricted,  it  is  not  nearly 
so  bad  as  in  North  and  Central  China.  A  good  deal  of  com- 
plaint is  heard  of  lawlessness  in  Canton,  and  up  West  River 
where  pirates  are  operating  on  a  large  scale,  one  band  is  said  to 
number  six  hundred.  On  account  of  the  revolution  all  the 
gunboats  have  been  withdrawn,  so  it  gives  the  lawless  element 
a  free  hand.  They  have  even  been  trying  it  on  in  this  colony, 
but  there  is  no  danger  of  anything  serious,  as  above  all  things, 
the  British  will  enforce  to  the  letter,  both  law  and  order. 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  II5 

However,  the  general  paralysis  of  trade  that  is  gradually 
creeping  over  the  entire  Empire  will  deprive  multitudes  of  the 
means  of  livelihood  and  we  must  expect  riots  and  trouble 
unless  the  revolution  can  be  stopped  soon,  and  at  this  writing 
there  is  no  immediate  prospect.  It  is  reported  that  Japan  will 
take  forcible  measures  to  guard  the  Hanyang  Iron  Works  on 
which  they  have  a  mortgage. 

Lawlessness  in  Canton  district,  and  especially  pirates  on 
West  River,  is  on  the  increase.  A  British  river  steamer  was 
willfully  run  on  a  mud  bank  by  a  Chinese  pilot  and  immediately 
attacked  by  pirates.  They  opened  fire  with  modern  rifles. 
The  mate  was  armed  and  killed  five  of  them.  The  captain 
found  the  ammunition  had  all  been  stolen  and  the  cartridges 
had  been  drawn  from  the  guns  in  the  pilot  house,  showing 
they  had  confederates  on  board.  Unfortunately,  after  making 
such  a  brave  defense  the  mate  was  killed  and  three  passengers 
were  wounded.  They  took  everything  loose  of  any  value, 
including  all  her  cargo.  The  steamer  backed  off  after  the 
pirates  left  and  proceeded  to  Hong  Kong,  reporting  the  affair 
to  the  admiral,  who  immediately  sent  three  torpedo  boats,  four 
launches,  and  a  tug  with  six  machine  guns,  so  it  will  be  in- 
teresting for  pirates  on  West  River  for  some  time  to  come. 

I  was  surprised  to  see  how  many  Chinese  had  cut  off  their 
queues,  fully  two-thirds  of  the  population  in  Canton.  Rowdies 
parade  the  streets  with  scissors  and  cut  off  all  queues  of 
unsuspecting  passers.  They  claim  it  to  be  a  sign  that  they 
are  rebels  if  the  pigtail  is  gone. 

In  reading  the  Hong  Kong  newspapers,  the  tone  is  dis- 
tressingly pessimistic.  One  to  believe  them  would  think  the 
end  of  China  had  come  and  that  there  was  no  hope  for  the 
new  government.  On  the  other  hand,  the  papers  of  North 
and  Central  China,  where  the  real  trouble  is,  are  quite  hopeful 
of  the  final  results  that  we  will  have  a  new  progressive  China. 
Talking  with  merchants  and  bankers  North,  they  all  voice  the 
sentiments  of  their  newspapers.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Hong- 
Kong  and  Canton  everyone  seems  to  think  the  bottom  has  gone 
out  of  everything,  and  strange  to  say,  business  in  the  North  is 
practically  suspended,  while  in  the  South  business  is  very  much 
curtailed,  but  by  no  means  suspended,  as  the  Southerners  do 
not  depend  upon  China  alone. 


I  1 6  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

The  steamer  we  crossed  on  from  Hong  Kong  to  Manila,  the 
"Yuen  Sang"  of  the  Jardine  Mathewson  Hne,  had  all  the  cargo 
she  could  stow  under  deck  and  considerable  on  deck.  We  had 
some  lumber  to  ship  to  Manila,  for  which  they  asked  $12.00 
Mexican  a  ton  or  $18.00  per  thousand  feet  and  would  only 
take  half  of  it  this  week,  balance  in  ten  days,  so  I  don't  see 
where  they  have  any  complaints  to  make.  This  is  said  to  be 
the  poorest  ship  on  the  route,  nevertheless,  she  was  full  of 
passengers,  every  berth  being  taken.  One  of  the  passengers 
was  in  the  scrap  with  the  pirates.  His  head  is  tied  up;  the 
effects  of  a  bullet  wound.  He  says  the  thin  woodwork  of  the 
steamer  was  riddled,  offering  no  protection  from  bullets.  This 
steamer,  the  "Yuen  Sang,"  is  twenty-four  years  old  and  carries 
2400  tons  dead  weight  on  nineteen  feet.  The  northerly 
monsoon  was  blowing  hard  and  the  ship  rolled  very  much. 
Every  roll  brought  water  on  deck,  so  it  was  impossible  to  walk 
there  on  the  way  over,  but  having  so  much  cargo  it  made  her 
better  than  if  she  had  been  light.  The  passage  was  slow ;  three 
days  and  nights,  distance  six  hundred  and  forty  miles.  The 
weather  has  been  warm,  l)ut  not  uncomfortably  so.  Seeing  that 
we  are  always  going  further  away  from  home,  we  are  not 
getting  letters  or  papers,  but  they  will  catch  up  with  us  after 
a  while. 

MANILA — We  arrived  three  days  out  from  Hong  Kong 
on  the  28th  of  November.  Three  years  ago,  we  arrived  on  the 
29th.  On  entering  the  harbor  I  noticed  many  changes  for  the 
better.     The  breakwater  is  complete. 

I  have  not  investigated  the  facilities  for  the  rapid  handling 
of  freight  on  the  piers.  Charges,  regulations,  etc.  will  follow. 
The  streets  are  much  improved :  all  new  ones  are  wide  and 
well  constructed  and  kept  perfectly  clean.  On  entering  the 
city,  I  was  at  once  impressed  by  the  much  better  appearance 
of  the  surroundings,  several  large  buildings  being  either 
completed  or  under  construction,  notably  on  the  Luneta  or 
water  front  on  made  ground.  The  new  hotel,  large  enough 
and  said  to  be  good  enough  for  any  city,  will  be  opened  in 
January.  Then  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
Club  and  the  Elks  Club. 

On  arrival,  we  received  an  invitation  from  Governor 
Eorbes  to  attend  a  reception  and  ball  on  the  opening  of  the 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I  I  7 

Legislature.  It  was  given  in  the  Old  Governor's  Palace,  an 
immense  house,  the  grounds  being  beautifully  illuminated  by 
electricity.  One  thousand  and  eighty  were  present.  The 
dresses  of  the  Philippine  ladies  were  unique  and  very  fine, 
entirely  different  from  anything  we  had  ever  seen.  I  Vv'ill  not 
attempt  to  describe  them,  as  I  consider  it  entirely  outside  of 
the  ability  of  any  man  to  do  it.  so  I  must  leave  them  to  the 
ladies  to  describe. 

I  was  surprised  to  meet  so  many  men  whom  I  knew,  or  ti) 
put  it  it  more  correctly,  to  meet  so  many  who  knew  me.  \A> 
had  a  very  pleasant  evening  and  seeing  we  had  only  arrived  at 
noon,  we  had  our  time  well  occupied  from  the  start. 

I  forgot  to  say  that  on  arrival  I  noticed  a  verv  great 
improvement  in  the  reception  of  passengers,  that  is,  by  the 
quarantine,  immigration  and  customs  officers.  On  my  two 
previous  visits,  especially  ten  years  ago.  they  made  it  so  hard 
and  exacting  that  before  I  got  ashore  I  heartily  wished  that 
I  never  had  come  at  that  time;  they  started  in  at  jMarivelis 
at  5  :oo  a.  m.  and  it  was  after  7  :oo  p.  m.  before  w^e  finally  got 
on  shore,  and  it  being  Sunday,  we  could  not  get  any  of  our 
baggage  until  next  day.  This  time  there  was  no  trouble  or 
delay  whatever,  and  the  officers  gave  one  the  impression  that 
they  were  trying  to  make  strangers  welcome  and  make  it  as 
easy  as  possible  to  comply  with  the  law. 

The  Governor  made  an  appointment  for  me  to  meet  him 
at  his  office  the  following  day.  He  had  been  very  sick  and 
although  far  from  well  and  not  seeing  visitors,  I  had  difficulty 
in  getting  away  from  him,  as  he  seemed  to  be  very  much 
interested  in  what  I  had  to  say.  I  told  him  I  felt  he  was 
tiring  himself  out  and  that  on  my  return  from  my  proposed 
trip  to  the  Islands,  I  would  be  prepared  to  talk  to  him  more 
intelligently.  He  said  he  would  do  everything  in  his  power 
to  assist  me  in  developing  any  trade  to  or  from  our  country. 
Neither  he  nor  anyone  I  have  met  so  far  could  possibly  have 
done  more  for  me  than  they  did.  As  soon  as  I  left  him.  he 
sent  for  the  Commissioner  of  Navigation  and  instructed  him 
to  get  a  government  steamer  and  accompany  me  around  the 
Islands.  I  have  not  met  him  yet,  so  the  definite  arrangements 
as  to  where  and  when  we  will  go  has  not  been  made.     In  fact, 


Il8  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

I  got  the  information  from  one  who  was  present.  The 
government  officials  are  certainly  alive  to  increasing  the  trade. 
If  you  look  at  the  great  increase  in  trade  in  three  years,  it 
shows  to  a  very  great  extent  how  it  came  about  coupled  with 
the  reduction  in  the  tariff. 

Imports  and  Exports  from  and  to  the  United  States  for 

(1909     $15,000,000 

For  only  9  months  each  year.   ■{  1910     24,500,000 

(l911     29,000,000 

The  total  Exports  in  three  articles,  were  for  1910 

Hemp 170,788  tons 

Copra 116,374   tons 

Sugar 127,717   tons 

This  shows  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  tonnage  moving. 
Of  course,  the  copra  nearly  all  went  to  France,  the  hemp 
mostly  went  to  the  eastern  seaboard  of  the  United  States,  while 
of  sugar,  seven-eighths  of  the  total  was  sent  to  the  United 
States.  I  will  get  the  statistics  of  what  went  to  the  Pacific 
Coast  as  that  information  will  be  valuable  for  us  to  have;  but 
looking  at  it  superficially,  there  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  but 
the  exports  to  our  coast  ports  can  be  increased.  The  question 
for  me  to  answer  is,  in  what  commodities,  and  how  can  it  be 
done?  There  are  many  complaints  about  the  lack  of  inter- 
island  shipping. 

The  new  coast  guard  vessels  of  the  government  are  tied  up 
in  a  bunch  here;  there  must  be  a  dozen  of  them.  They  were 
built  for  commerce,  but  the  government  lost  so  much  with  them 
running  them  commercially,  they  had  to  be  tied  up,  another 
striking  illustration  that  the  government  cannot  compete  with 
private  ownership. 

Manila,  December  4th,  191 1 — There  is  an  air  of  pros- 
perity all  over  the  city.  No  one  complains,  but  on  the  contrary 
all  say  business  is  good.  Bankers  report  collections  good  at 
the  present  time.  This  is  the  only  city  in  the  Orient  to-day 
that  can  make  such  favorable  reports.  In  years  gone  by 
Manila  was  always  at  the  tail-end  of  the  procession.  Now,  the 
Philippines  are  at  the  top  of  the  list.  I  have  inquired  par- 
ticularly if  this  is  only  just  a  spurt  and  whether  it  would  last, 
but  everyone  thinks  that  it  is  permanent,  and  while  I  don't 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  ng 

think  so  much  prosperity  will  continue,  it  looks  to  me  as 
though  the  Philippines  are  on  the  road  to  permanent  and 
steady  improvement. 

The  city  has  improved  in  many  ways :  notably  in  buildings 
and  streets.  A  very  great  improvement  has  been  made  in  port 
charges.  Now  a  ship  has  no  port  charges  unless  she  lays  at 
the  wharf,  when  they  are  one-half  cent,  gold,  American  net 
register  ton  a  day.  Pilotage  (is  only  necessary  if  the  captain 
don't  know  his  berth,  not  compulsory  and  not  necessary  in 
leaving  port)  $12.50  gold  one  way  is  the  charge.  Pilots  are 
responsible  for  minor  damages.  On  general  cargo  at  wharf, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  a  hatch  is  the  best  that  can  be  done. 
Loading  into  cascos  is  the  same  rate  provided  a  full  supply 
of  lighters  can  be  procured,  which  is  very  doubtful. 

In  lumber  the  custom  of  the  port  is  50,000  feet  a  hatch, 
and  the  very  maximum  is  75,000  feet  provided  lighters  can 
be  obtained,  which  is  not  probable.  The  great  trouble  seems 
to  be  the  slow  handling  ashore.  It  is  possible  to  do  good  work 
on  the  ship,  but  whether  this  can  be  accomplished  in  the  near 
future  remains  to  be  seen.  One  thing  sure,  before  Manila 
becomes  the  great  distributing  port  of  the  Far  East  for 
American  goods,  they  must  land  and  store  them  as  their 
competitors  do  at  Hong  Kong  and  Shanghai.  On  expensive 
goods  that  can  stand  the  extra  cost,  it  is  not  so  bad,  but  on 
heavy  freight  such  as  iron,  machinery,  flour,  etc..  they  are 
not  in  it.  At  the  commencement  of  the  occupation  the  gov- 
ernment was  to  blame  in  many  ways,  making  profitable 
business  along  modern  lines  almost  impracticable,  but  now 
the  reverse  is  the  case.  It  looks  to  me  from  the  very  short 
time  and  imperfect  observation  I  have  had  that  the  government 
is  doing  everything  in  its  power  to  make  it  the  ideal  com- 
mercial port  of  the  Orient,  first  making  it  a  free  port,  then 
building  a  breakwater  to  make  the  harbor,  then  putting  in 
wharves.  If  warehouses  of  sufficient  capacity  were  built  and 
connected  with  the  wharves  by  rail,  freight  could  be  handled 
very  cheaply,  and  outside  of  the  high  price  of  labor  as  com- 
pared with  the  other  Oriental  ports,  freight  can  be  handled 
expeditiously  and  cheaply.  A  mistake  has  been  made  in 
building  the  wharves  too  narrow,  and  while  the  railroad  tracks 
go  down  the  middle  of  the  wharf,  there  are  none  on  the  side 


120  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

SO  that  ships  can  load  or  discharge  direct  from  the  cars. 
involving  a  second  handling.  This.  I  understand,  will  be 
rectified  when  other  wharves  are  erected.  ]\Ir.  Deerham  has 
erected  a  large  warehouse  which  is  now  crowded  to  its  utmost 
capacity. 

Probably  one  reason  why  it  will  be  slow  to  establish 
business  on  the  new  water  front  is  on  account  of  the  splendid 
creeks  and  canals  that  go  through  the  principal  parts  of  the 
citv.  giving  water  communication  for  light-draft  lighters  all 
over  the  cit}-.  and  wherever  business  has  been  established  for 
many  years  it  is  always  hard  to  divert  it. 

The  Governor  directed  Director  Helm  of  the  Bureau  of 
Navigation  to  take  one  of  the  coast  guard  steamers  and 
accompany  me  to  any  part  of  the  Islands  I  wished  to  go. 
Messrs.  Deerham  and  Norton  were  invited  guests  of  the 
government.  We  left  ]\Ianila  in  the  evening  on  the  "Luzon'' 
and  arrived  at  Calipan  on  the  Island  of  Mindora  next  morning. 
where  we  met  Governor  \'an  Schaike.  Fortunately  we  had 
known  his  wife,  so  it  made  a  ver}-  pleasant  visit  for  us.  The 
government  building  and  governor's  residence  are  commodious 
and  comfortable,  well  situated  on  a  hill  at  the  landing.  They 
have  a  stone  and  cement  pier  with  twenty  feet  of  water  at  low 
tide.  It  is  a  ver\-  pretty  place  and  attractive  on  account  of 
its  varied  tropical  vegetation. 

The  village  of  Calipan  is  not  very  large,  say  five  hundred 
people.  The  island  probably  has  less  population  than  any  of 
the  large  islands,  and  is  about  one  hundred  miles  in  its  extreme 
length  and  fort}'  miles  in  width.  On  the  southern  end  of  this 
island  is  the  great  sugar  plantation  managed  in  San  Fran- 
cisco by  ^^'elsh  &  Co.  I  learned  that  the  mill  was  up  but 
there  would  be  no  cane  ready  this  year,  although  next  year  they 
expect  to  have  plenty.     Their  shipping  port  is  ]\Iangaren. 

We  then  went  northeast  to  Binahain  in  the  province  of 
--Vmbos  Camarines  on  Raja  Bay  where  ]\Ir.  Durham  has  a 
large  timber  concession.  We  also  landed  at  Camico  Cove  a 
few  miles  away.  There  they  were  logging  with  caribous 
hauling  out  small  blocks  of  molava  for  keel  blocks  for  the 
government  dr\-  dock  in  Hong  Kong.  The  hewing  was  ver}' 
rough,  and  the  timber  was  badly  gotten  out.  but  they  were 
rehewing  tliem  before   shipment.      I   saw  two  pieces  of  red 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  121 

lawam.  The}'  were  fifty  feet  long  and  twenty-six  inches 
square ;  they  were  very  good  quahty  and  could  have  been 
made  good  merchantable  timber  had  any  care  been  taken  in 
getting  them  out. 

The  village  was  en  fete;  the  priest  was  coming  that  after- 
noon and  at  night  they  were  to  have  a  great  dance  and  fiesta ; 
in  the  meantime  all  work  was  suspended.  At  both  places  there 
was  plenty  of  water  for  any  draft  steamer  to  within  three 
hundred  feet  of  the  shore;  for  miles  a  nice  gravelly  beach 
extended  both  ways. 

We  sailed  from  Camico  at  noon  for  the  coal  mine  at  Batan 
and  the  lumbering  at  Rapa  Rapa,  both  islands  being  close 
together,  and  lay  off  the  southeast  corner  of  Luzon.  To  get 
there,  we  passed  through  the  San  Bernardino  Straits  which 
separates  Luzon  from  the  Island  of  Saman.  So  far  navigation 
has  been  quite  easy.  We  passed  through  San  Bernardino 
Straits  into  the  broad  Pacific  which  was  in  an  angry  mood. 
Our  small  steamer  pitched  and  rolled  about  like  a  ]\Iendocino 
coaster. 

\\'e  arrived  at  Batan  coal  mine  early  in  the  morning, 
where  the  government  cable  steamer  "Razal"  was  loading  a 
cargo  of  coal  for  Manila.  The  mine  is  producing  one  hundred 
tons  a  day  and  they  seem  fairly  well  equipped.  The  mouth  of 
the  shaft,  or  rather  the  incline,  is  about  twenty-five  feet  above 
the  ocean  level  and  five  hundred  feet  from  the  shore.  It  is 
down  fifteen  hundred  feet  and  at  the  end  is  ten  feet  below  low 
water.  The  coal  is  soft,  with  a  good  deal  of  ash,  a  light 
burning  coal  like  that  of  Seattle,  and  the  quality  about  like 
Japanese  coal.  They  sell  the  output  at  $3.00  gold.  It  is 
conceded  that  there  is  an  unlimited  quantity.  The  wharf  is 
over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  along  the  shore  connected  by  a  fill 
of  coral,  and  a  good  railroad,  two-foot  gauge,  forty  pound 
steel.  The  bunkers  are  at  the  pit  mouth  and  hold  three 
thousand  tons.  The  cars  run  under  the  bunker  and  two 
sets  of  chutes  load  cars  on  a  double  track.  Ah  overhead 
tram  runs  from  the  pit  mouth  over  the  bunkers  and 
dumps  the  coal  into  the  bunkers  which  are  well  and 
substantially  built,  but  they  are  certainly  in  the  wrong  place; 
they  should  be  on  the  wharf  and  shoot  the  coal  direct  into 
the  ships,  thereby  giving  quick  loading.     Instead,  the  cars  are 


122  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

all  loaded  from  the  bunkers  and  taken  to  the  wharf  where 
they  are  dumped  into  a  box  and  each  car  load  hoisted  with  a 
donkey  engine  and  shot  into  the  vessel.  I  could  not  find  out 
exactly  how  much  a  day  could  be  handled ;  one  party  said 
three  hundred  tons,  another  six  hundred,  but  I  think  the  mean 
between  the  two  would  be  near  it.  Had  the  bunkers  been  on 
the  wharf  it  would  have  been  an  ideal  loading  port,  as  the 
contents  of  the  bunkers  could  have  been  shot  into  the  vessel 
in  a  very  few  hours. 

As  to  the  underground  working  of  the  mine,  I  know 
nothing.  A  new  manager  arrived  the  same  time  as  we  did. 
He  is  from  the  United  States.  It  does  look  as  if  properly 
managed  and  worked  on  modern  principles  that  it  would  be  a 
paying  institution.  It  rained  torrents  all  the  time  we  were 
at  the  mine,  so  we  looked  it  over  under  very  disadvantageous 
conditions. 

I  took  a  steam  launch  and  went  to  Rapa  Rapa  Island,  four 
miles  off  where  they  were  getting  out  timber.  There  was 
considerable  surf  on,  and  while  we  had  a  small  boat  with  us, 
it  grounded  one  hundred  feet  from  shore  so  we  had  to  walk 
this  distance,  but  as  it  was  still  raining  as  it  only  can  in  the 
tropics,  the  wetting  we  got  from  the  ocean  did  not  make  us 
wetter  than  from  the  rain.  I  was  sorry  to  find  the  manager 
had  gone  to  Le  Gaspie  so  I  did  not  see  him.  However,  I  saw 
the  timber  which  he  had  got  out,  which  was  small  in  size: 
mostly  twelve  inches  to  fourteen  inches  square,  one  piece  only 
over  twenty  inches.  Evidently  they  had  been  skinning  the 
forest  to  get  the  woods  that  would  sell  for  the  most  money. 
They  had  about  seventy-five  pieces  ready  for  shipment.  I 
can't  help  remarking  on  the  small,  contracted  way  of  getting 
out  square  logs.  In  fact,  it  looks  to  me  to  be  of  no  commercial 
value  the  way  it  is  done,  so  from  the  viewpoint  of  doing  a 
big  business  it  is  certainly  very  discouraging  as  to  the  quantity 
of  standing  timber  or  facilities  for  getting  it  out.  On  account 
of  the  typhoon  and  torrential  rain  it  was  impossible  to  do 
anything. 

We  then  went  on  board  the  steamer  "Luzon"  again  under 
some  difficulty,  as  the  ocean  was  quite  rough,  and  proceeded 
down  the  west  side  of  the  Island  of  Samar  and  at  daylight 
next  day  we  were  at  the  Straits  of  San  Juanica  which  separates 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I23 

Samar  from  Leyte.  It  was  a  fine  sight  going  through  the 
narrow,  crooked  channel,  some  places  only  two  hundred  feet 
wide.  The  nepa  huts  of  the  natives — surrounded  by  banana, 
hemp,  and  cocoanut  trees — lined  the  shores  all  the  way.  The 
country  is  of  volcanic  origin,  and  the  sharp  peaks  of  the  hills 
were  very  picturesque.  The  storm  of  yesterday  has  passed 
away  and  the  weather  is  clear,  fine  and  warm,  but  very  pleasant. 
The  scenery  is  finer  than  the  Inland  Sea  of  Japan. 

At  9:00  a.  m.  we  reached  Tackloban  the  capital  of  Leyte. 
We  landed  and  looked  over  the  town.  The  principal  industry 
is  the  receiving  of  hemp,  preparing  it  for  the  market,  pressing 
it,  and  shipping  it  to  Cebu  for  forwarding  to  various  parts  of 
the  world.  I  found  that  the  Chinese  were  the  merchants  and 
the  solid  men  of  the  town.  They  had  some  very  good  modern 
hydraulic  presses  which  were  worked  well  and  expeditiously, 
baling  the  hemp  well  and  quickly,  a  Chinese  boss  w^atching  the 
Philippine  laborers  who  do  all  the  work.  I  also  saw  them 
drying  the  copra  and  preparing  it  for  shipment,  but  there  did 
not  appear  to  be  a  great  quantity  of  it.  The  Spanish  had  no 
roads  worthy  of  the  name,  but  the  Americans  have  made 
excellent  roads  running  many  miles  into  the  Island,  and 
several  automobiles  are  for  hire,  which  is  quite  a  sight  in  this 
out-of-the-way  place.  The  telegraph  system  is  very  good. 
Every  place  of  any  importance  has  a  telegraph  of^ce,  post 
office,  and  schools. 

We  left  Tackloban  at  2  :oo  p.  m.  for  Cebu,  returning  by  the 
same  channel  as  we  came:  namely,  by  San  Juanica  Straits 
and  passing  around  the  north  end  of  the  Island  of  Leyte, 
thence  through  Billiran  Straits  where  at  one  place  it  was  not 
wider  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  with  a  strong  tide 
running,  we  passed  the  small  village  of  Billiran  at  which  there 
was  a  large  church ;  in  fact,  very  large  churches  were  always  to 
be  seen  in  every  village,  in  marked  contrast  to  the  native 
huts.  At  Tackloban  there  were  three  schooners  used  for 
trading  and  a  small  steamer,  all  owned  by  Chinese.  There 
do  not  appear  to  be  many  small  schooners  such  as  we  see  in 
Japan  or  junks  as  in  China.  Large  steamers  can  come  in 
here  by  the  South  Channel  where  it  is  said  there  is  plenty  of 
water.  There  are  two  wharves  for  vessels  of  fifteen-foot 
draft,  but  larger  ones  must  anchor.     There  are  several  large 


124  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

^varehouses  capable  of  storing  large  quantities  of  hemp  and 
copra.  The  Tobaccolera  Co.  has  a  good  establishment  here, 
and,  for  a  Filipino  town,  there  was  considerable  bustle. 

A  Chinese  merchant  said  the  price  of  hemp  was  very  low, 
and  that  a  typhoon  had  destroyed  most  of  the  copra,  which, 
however,  was  bringing  a  good  price. 

CEBU,  December  ii,  191 1 — We  arrived  in  Cebu  at  7:00 
a.  m.,  coming  in  by  the  North  Channel,  very  easy  navigation 
for  a  vessel  of  any  size.  Cebu  is  on  an  island  of  the  same  name. 
The  small  Island  of  Macton  lies  about  one  mile  distant, 
making  a  straight  channel  up  to  the  city.  The  Island  of  Bohol 
is  also  in  sight.  The  Island  of  Cebu  is  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  long  by  thirty  miles  average  width.  A  railroad 
runs  twenty  miles  north  and  forty  miles  south  of  the  city. 
They  are  very  short  of  freight  but  everything  is  being  done 
that  can  be  to  encourage  farmers  to  produce  more;  in  fact, 
they  are  doing  a  work  that  properly  belongs  to  the  agriculture 
department  of  the  government.  Cebu  presents  a  fine  appear- 
ance from  the  ship's  deck;  that  is,  from  a  commercial  view- 
point. The  city  has  a  fine  concrete  seawall  about  two  thousand 
feet  long  with  eight  hundred  feet  yet  to  build.  The  upper  end 
at  low  water  has  eighteen  feet  of  water,  the  center  twenty- 
four  feet,  and  the  north  end  will  have  thirty  feet  when  com- 
pleted. The  custom  house  is  a  fine,  large,  three-story  building 
sufficient  for  a  city  of  half  a  million  inhabitants.  Several 
very  large  warehouses  of  the  most  substantial  construction, 
all  of  concrete,  are  on  the  made  land,  leaving  a  dock  space  of 
two  hundred  feet  for  a  street  or  esplanade.  Taking  it  all 
through,  it. is  one  of  the  most  complete  little  ports  I  have  ever 
seen.  A  fifty-ton  crane  is  installed.  Railroad  tracks  extend 
all  along  the  front  of  the  docks  so  that  a  vessel  can  get  good 
dispatch  and  at  a  minimum  cost,  and  it  is  practically  a  free 
port,  as  it  only  costs  nine  pesos  to  enter  and  clear ;  there  is  no 
charge  for  tonnage  dues  or  wharfage.  In  coming  in  from  the 
north  a  pilot  can  be  had  seven  miles  from  the  city  for  twenty- 
five  pesos,  but  this  is  not  compulsory.  I  recommend  employ- 
ing one  inward  but  not  outward,  as  a  stranger  would  be  the 
better  for  advice  how  to  dock.  The  ship  drops  her  anchor 
abreast  of  the  wharf,  and  it  is  customary  to  drop  a  kedge  aft, 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I25 

for  which  I  failed  to  see  the  necessit}'  except  in  the  case  of  a 
deep-drafted  vessel,  as  the  water  shoals  at  the  foot  of  the 
seawall.  The  channel  is  excellently  well  marked  by  buoys, 
beacons,  and  lights.  In  fact,  I  don't  know  of  any  port  better 
marked.  The  exports  in  their  order  are:  hemp,  copra,  and 
sugar.  ]Many  small  steamers  and  small  schooners  make  their 
home  port  here  and  gather  the  products  from  adjacent  islands, 
making  this  the  export  port.  This  is  quite  central  and  should 
grow  to  be  a  big  port,  but  the  complaint  is  that  farmers  refuse 
to  produce  more  and  it  may  take  time  to  get  them  out  of  the 
old  way,  which  was  only  to  produce  what  they  actually 
required  for  their  necessities,,  and  which  is  not  very  much.  A 
few  cocoanut  trees,  or  bananas,  and  a  patch  of  rice  fills  the  bill. 
A  very  small  piece  of  cotton  cloth  clothes  the  family,  and  all 
their  wants  are  supplied.  How  to  induce  them  to  produce  for 
export  is  the  all  important  question  before  the  Americans 
to-day.  If  Chinese  or  Malays  were  allowed  to  come  into  the 
country  in  limited  numbers,  it  would  revolutionize  the  country 
in  a  short  time  and  make  these  islands  a  paradise. 

Cebu,  like  all  Spanish  towns,  has  narrow,  crooked  streets, 
a  big  plaza,  an  old  fort,  and  sixty  thousand  inhabitants.  The 
Americans  have  macadamized  many  of  the  mud  streets  and 
built  several  roads  out  through  the  islands.  Over  one  of  them 
we  went  ten  miles  in  an  auto,  and  it  was  as  good  as  can 
be  found  anywhere.  In  that  distance  we  passed  a  succession 
of  villages,  which  appeared  like  one  continuous  village. 

This  island  has  more  population  than  any  of  the  groups 
for  its  size,  being  five  hundred  to  the  square  mile,  the  total 
population  being  850,000. 

\Ye  visited  a  native  sugar  mill  operated  with  one  caribou, 
the  entire  machinery  being  two  upright  wooden  rollers  about 
twenty-four  inches  in  diameter  and  three  feet  long  between 
which  the  cane  was  passed,  the  juice  falling  into  a  wooden 
trough  hollowed  out  of  a  tree.  It  was  carried  in  buckets  to  the 
large  kettle  to  be  boiled,  then  put  into  a  trough  like  a  small 
canoe  and  worked  with  a  shovel  until  it  was  all  disintegrated, 
then  put  in  mats  made  out  of  bamboo,  taken  to  the  seaport 
and  sold  for  export.  It  was  very  primitive  and  would  be  all 
right  but  for  the  fact  that  30%  to  4o7r  of  the  sugar  is  left  in 
the  cane. 


126  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

We  also  saw  them  preparing  copra.  The  cocoanuts  are 
gathered,  quartered,  and  the  shell  separated  from  the  copra. 
For  sun  drying  it  is  broken  into  small  pieces  and  spread  on 
the  ground  on  mats  where  the  sun  gets  at  it.  It  is  turned 
frequently  until  dry,  when  it  is  packed  in  gunny  sacks.  If  to  be 
dried  by  fire,  a  lot  of  bamboo  poles  are  spread  out  three  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  copra  spread  out  on  them,  a  fire  of 
cocoanut  husks  is  then  lighted  under  the  poles  and  kept 
burning  until  the  copra  is  dry,  which  is  really  more  smoked 
than  dried,  coming  out  quite  black ;  whereas,  the  sun-dried 
is  fairly  white,  but  it  could  all  be  dried  in  the  ordinary,  cheap 
fruit  dryer  and  come  out  perfectly  white,  and  as  there  is  plenty 
of  fuel  in  the  husks  the  expense  would  be  reasonable. 

In  a  park  in  Cebu  near  the  water  front  is  an  altar  erected 
to  the  memory  of  Magellan  and  the  priest  who  said  the  first 
mass  at  this  place  four  hundred  years  ago.  Shortly  after 
Magellan  arrived  here  he  was  invited  to  a  conference  with  the 
chiefs.  On  the  small  Island  of  Mactan  (or  Macton)  opposite 
the  city  where  he  was  murdered  by  the  natives,  a  monument 
marks  the  spot  where  the  deed  occurred.  This  can  be  seen 
from  the  deck  of  a  steamer  a  few  miles  after  leaving,  going 
north.  He  was  one  of  Spain's  most  famous  explorers  and  on 
this  voyage  he  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan  which 
still  bears  his  name. 

The  manager  of  Joaquam  Castro  &  Co.,  a  Chinese  firm, 
Mr.  Alfonso  Zarate  Sy  Cip,  generally  called  by  the  two  last 
words,  gave  a  banquet  in  our  honor  at  which  twenty  were 
present,  of  which  only  two  were  Chinese,  the  rest  being  the 
leading  merchants  of  the  city.    We  had  a  very  pleasant  party. 

Mr.  Muir,  manager  of  Stevenson  &  Co.,  gave  us  an  auto- 
mobile trip  ten  miles  out  of  the  city.  The  Collector  of  the 
Port,  Mr.  Bennet,  gave  us  a  launch,  so  we  were  well  taken 
care  of. 

The  British  steamer  "Kenebeck"  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  arrived  to  finish  loading  a  cargo  of  hemp  and  copra 
for  New  York. 

The  city  seemed  to  be  kept  fairly  clean.  In  the  business 
part  the  offices  are  mostly  upstairs  in  warehouses.  The 
buildings  of  the  town  are  small,  nearly  all  live  upstairs.  In 
the  very  poor  section,  the  buildings  are  sets  of  ports  six  feet 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I 27 

or  eight  feet  high  with  a  ladder  going  up  to  the  Hving  room. 
We  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ganao  River  on  the  Island  of 
Negros  in  the  early  morning.  It  is  very  shallow  and  the 
steamer  anchored  in  four  and  three-quarters  fathoms  about 
two  miles  from  shore.  There  is  a  small  village  called  Sagay 
on  the  right  bank.  When  we  entered  it  was  low  tide  and  our 
launch  grounded  several  times,  as  w^e  took  the  right  channel 
instead  of  the  left  w^hich  is  much  better  and  is  marked  by 
tripods  or  bunches  of  bamboo  poles.  Our  launch  drew  eighteen 
inches.  After  getting  into  the  river  we  had  plenty  of  water,  as 
there  was  four  feet  to  five  feet  all  the  way  to  the  Insular 
Lumber  Company's  mill  seven  miles  up.  The  river  is  about 
two  hundred  feet  wide  and  it  is  a  very  nice  sail  up  to  the  mill. 
The  lumber  is  taken  from  the  mill  on  barges,  or  rather  scows, 
which  carry  200.000  feet  to  250,000  feet.  At  present  they  are 
towed  to  ]\Ianila  by  an  ocean-going  tug.  Old  Erie  Canal 
barges  had  been  used,  one  of  which  was  lying  keel  up,  another 
on  her  beam  ends,  and  still  another  was  high  and  dry  with  a 
big  section  amidships  gone,  and  scattered  along  the  river 
on  the  way  up.  The  transportation  end  of  the  business 
did  not  look  prosperous.  In  trans-shipping  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  there  is  no  shelter,  but  four  miles  east  is  the  Island 
of  Suyac,  a  small  island,  but  a  good  sheltered  anchorage.  On 
the  southeast  side  there  is  five  fathoms,  so  loading  could  be 
carried  on  there  at  any  time. 

On  the  way  up  the  river  we  passed  a  large  sugar  plantation 
which  seemed  prosperous,  as  several  new  buildings  were  going 
up,  thanks  to  the  high  price  of  sugar.  They  have  two  lumber 
mills,  one  on  each  side  of  the  river.  The  larger  mill  has  a 
fourteen-inch  band  mill  with  all  the  modern  improvements; 
in  fact,  a  complete,  up-to-date  mill  driven  with  a  fine  pair  of 
Corliss  engines.  Their  boiler  capacity  is  rather  limited,  but 
they  will  put  in  another  one  which  will  give  plenty  of  steam, 
as  they  are  using  a  Dutch  oven  for  better  burning  of  the  wet 
sawdust  and  slabs.  All  the  lumber  seemed  to  be  well  manu- 
factured. I  noticed  it  was  one-sixteenth  extra  in  thickness, 
which  they  told  me  was  customary  as  it  shrinks  this  much  in 
drying.  They  have  no  planers  and  all  the  lumber  is  shipped 
in  the  rough.  The  logs  they  were  sawing  produced  lumber 
either  clear  or  cull,  but  large  logs  were  defective  in  the  heart. 


128  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

They  told  me  a  block  in  the  center  of  most  logs  had  to  be 
burned  on  account  of  defects.  They  were  sawmg  red  and 
white  lawam;  the  former  is  called  Philippine  mahogany  when 
shipped  to  America.  They  have  large  sheds  for  sticking  their 
lumber  and  appear  to  take  good  care  of  it ;  and  they  have  a 
good  machine  shop.  Their  two  Shay  locomotives  were  out  of 
commission,  so  I  could  not  visit  their  timber  and  logging 
camps  without  staying  over  another  day,  so  I  did  not  consider 
it  of  sufficient  importance  to  wait  over. 

The  small  mill  across  the  river  looked  to  me  to  be  a  very 
economical  one.  It  is  a  fifty-six  inch  circular  mill  with  a  top 
saw,  edgers,  trimmers,  and  all  the  necessary  machinery,  two 
engine  feed,  over-head  canter,  etc.,  but  the  engine  was  only 
1 2x1 6  inches  working  on  I20  pounds  steam  and  they  only 
had  one  boiler  which  was  far  too  small,  but  with  a  little  more 
boiler  and  engine  power  it  would  make  a  very  good  mill.  They 
propose  to  move  it  across  the  river  and  put  it  alongside  of  the 
big  mill  and  have  it  cut  the  small  logs.  The  product  of  this 
mill  is  slid  down  on  skids  onto  barges,  a  very  cheap  way  of 
handling  it.  Both  mills  have  good,  but  small,  log  ponds. 
While  the  plant  is  comparatively  new,  it  has  been  very  much 
run  down,  and  since  this  new  management  took  hold  of  it  a 
few  months  ago,  they  have  done  a  lot  of  work  and  are  still 
doing  a  lot  to  get  it  up  to  date.  The  woods  and  logging  is 
the  most  important  part  of  any  saw  mill.  With  the  plant  they 
have,  they  can  cut  a  lot  of  timber  at  a  price  that  will  show  a 
profit,  provided  the  logging  does  not  cost  too  much,  and 
provided  further,  that  they  do  not  dump  too  much  money  into 
the  plant. 

The  means  of  transporting  the  lumber  to  market  seems  to 
be  a  very  uncertain  quantity  and  does  not  appear  to  be  settled, 
the  mill  being  seven  miles  up  the  river  and  the  bar  at  the 
mouth  being  so  that  one  can  wade  all  over  it  at  low  tide,  and 
the  tides  are  only  five  feet  to  seven  feet.  If  they  can  transport 
lumber  on  flat  bottomed  scows  three  hundred  miles  on  the 
ocean  successfully,  they  will  do  a  thing  that  has  been  a  failure 
anywhere  I  have  seen  it  tried.  To  offset  this,  they  have  to 
deliver  most  of  their  lumber  on  scows  in  Manila  and  they  must 
transport  it  all  on  scows  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  so  if  it  were 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I29 

possible  to  carry  it  all  through  to  its  destination  on  scows 
without  breaking  bulk,  it  would  be  all  right.  It  is  rather  a 
hard  problem  for  them  to  work  out  successfully. 

After  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  Ganao  River,  eight  miles 
west  we  passed  in  sight  of  the  Negros  Occidental  Mill,  a 
new  concern  just  started.  Their  timber  land  is  adjoining  that 
of  the  Insular  Lumber  Company  and  I  expect  the  conditions 
are  about  the  same.  They,  also,  have  an  open  port,  no  shelter, 
and  all  must  be  scowed  out. 

ILOILO,  December  12,  191 1 — We  arrived  here  at  7  p.  m. 
and  spent  one  day  and  two  nights.  We  hved  on  board  the 
steamer.  The  port  is  on  the  river,  which  at  the  mouth  is 
protected  by  two  breakwaters.  A  good  anchorage  can  be  got 
off  the  mouth,  but  at  certain  seasons  during  southeast 
monsoons,  it  gets  rough,  necessitating  the  stoppage  of  loading. 
The  warehouses  are  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  to  give 
quick  dispatch  they  load  sugar  from  the  wharf  and  lighters 
on  the  other  side.  As  much  as  fourteen  hundred  tons  has 
gone  on  board  in  one  day,  but  the  average  is  about  six  hundred 
tons  to  eight  hundred  tons.  On  what  is  called  the  lower  reach 
where  three  steamers  can  lay  at  one  time,  there  are  twenty- 
four  feet  at  mean  low  water.  Fourteen  hundred  feet  of  con- 
crete seawall  is  completed ;  and  there  remains  sixteen  hundred 
feet  of  wall  to  be  built.  The  government  is  building  about  six 
hundred  feet  a  year,  and  the  channel  is  kept  dredged  out.  The 
warehouses  are  old  and  out  of  date,  although  Walter  Barnes 
&  Co.  have  two  large  new  ones  built  and  others  are  in  the 
course  of  construction,  but  the  seawall  is  keeping  them  back 
and  the  government  cannot  build  it  any  faster  on  account  of 
want  of  money. 

There  are  several  progressive  (English)  firms  here, 
Stevenson  &  Co.,  Walter  Barnes  &  Co.,  Karr  &  Co.,  Smith 
Bell  &  Co. ;  and  in  imports.  Castle  Bros.  &  Wolf. 

The  streets  are  distinctively  Spanish,  narrow,  crooked,  and 
muddy,  reflecting  little  credit  on  the  city  fathers.  The  only 
roads  worthy  of  the  name  are  those  built  by  Americans  for 
several  miles  in  each  direction  from  the  city.  We  went  over 
those  roads  in  an  automobile,  and  can  say  they  are  as  g'ood 
and  as  well  kept  as  in  any  country,  although  I  must  say  there 


130  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

is  a  great  deal  to  be  done  yet.  As  the  old  Spanish  roads 
through  the  country  can  only  be  described  as  miserable  mud 
trails,  and  not  even  very  many  of  them,  no  great  or  permanent 
improvement  can  be  hoped  for  until  roads  are  made  all  over 
the  country,  and  no  rapid  development  can  be  expected. 

I  was  very  much  pleased  to  see  the  great  number  of  neat, 
trim,  small  fore  and  aft  schooners  in  this  harbor  and  vicinity, 
showing  that  this  is  a  great  trading  center  for  the  adjoining 
islands.  Before  arriving  here,  I  had  noticed  their  absence, 
while  their  presence  in  Japan  is  so  marked,  and  the  junks  so 
much  in  evidence  in  China.  There  were  several  small  trading 
steamers  also  here.  At  present  all  are  engaged  carrying  the 
new  crop  of  sugar  just  commencing  to  come  in  from  the  many 
small  villages  near  by;  about  all  the  available  berths  were 
occupied.  This  being  a  sugar  port,  and  as  sugar  was  booming, 
everyone  w'as  prosperous  and  correspondingly  happy. 

Iloilo  Pilotage — Is  compulsory  and  comes  high.  Our 
vessels  would  come  under  the  class  of  4500  to  4999  gross  tons, 
British;  $70.00  in  and  $70.00  out,  gold.  Any  shift  pilotage 
compulsory  and  $35.00,  gold,  for  each  move;  otherwise,  the 
port  is  free,  no  charge  being  made  for  lying  at  wharf.  A 
steamer  should  not  be  sent  here  to  finish  out  if  it  can  be  avoided. 

We  left  Iloilo  for  Cadiz  which  is  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Island  of  Panay,  about  four  and  a  half  hours  on  the  train. 
The  railroad  is  well  built  and  appears  to  be  well  managed; 
the  cars  comfortable.  The  railroad  company  are  doing  all 
they  can  to  induce  people  to  go  in  and  cultivate  the  soil.  So 
as  to  get  more  tonnage  to  carry,  they  are  going  to  a  great  deal 
of  expense  in  demonstrating  how  they  can  better  cultivate  the 
soil  and  in  showing  them  what  crops  will  produce  the  most 
money  for  the  least  cost  of  labor.  The  man  in  charge,  told 
me  it  was  up  hill  work  and  discouraging.  I  saw  a  great  deal 
of  uncultivated  land;  in  fact,  in  the  interior,  cultivation  was 
an  exception  to  the  rule.  It  showed  a  great  lack  of  people, 
or  rather,  the  want  of  people  who  would  go  on  the  land  and 
work.     It  was  either  suitable  for  rice  or  sugar. 

Cadiz  is  a  quiet,  provincial  capital  with  municipal  and 
provincial  buildings,  the  latter  nearly  completed;  they  are  of 
reinforced  concrete.     Again  I  have  to  remark  that  what  the 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I3I 

government  does  is  done  well  and  substantially,  either  in 
roads,  bridges,  or  buildings. 

We  visited  the  Industrial  School,  which  now  occupies  the 
old  court  house  and  offices.  The  quarters  are  commodious  and 
looked  to  be  well  adapted  for  this  purpose.  The  girls  are 
taught  cooking,  needle  work,  fancy  work,  drawing,  painting, 
etc.  The  boys  are  being  taught  mechanical  pursuits  of  all 
kinds.  We  saw  them  working  in  the  garden  and  noticed  that 
the  students  carefully  avoided  all  manual  labor  or  anything 
that  looked  like  it.  They  had  servants  to  carry  water  for 
irrigation.  Whether  right  or  wrong,  I  do  not  know,  but  I  got 
the  impression  that  they  were  being  taught  to  be  ladies  and 
gentlemen  and  not  being  taught  to  work,  and  not  taught  that 
all  work  is  honorable  and  that  the  great  essential  in  this  world 
is  to  learn  to  work.  It  may  be  that  the  teachers  are  unable  to 
impress  this  on  them  on  account  of  their  losing  caste  if  they 
work. 

As  to  their  enterprises,  I  found  practically  every  merchant 
in  town  was  either  a  full,  or  half  Chinese,  and  that  Chinese 
coolies  were  not  laborers.  The  best  work  on  the  government 
building  was  being  done  by  the  Chinese,  the  contractor  stating 
it  was  impossible  to  get  Filipinos  to  do  the  work. 

We  visited  the  Baptist  mission,  where  Mr.  and  ]Mrs. 
Russell,  our  hosts,  kindly  provided  dinner  for  us  and  drove 
us  three  and  a  half  miles  to  the  steamer  landing. 

We  were  much  interested  in  visiting  the  orphanage  where 
they  have  sixty  children,  boys  and  girls  from  three  years  to 
twelve  years  old.  We  found  the  large  building  suitable  for 
the  purpose.  The  children  were  neat  and  clean  as  well  as  the 
surroundings  and  reflected  credit  on  the  management.  The 
children  had  supper  when  we  were  there;  thev  had  plenty  of 
good  food  and  all  seemed  happy.  The  dormitories  were  large, 
airv  and  clean,  as  were  their  beds  and  beddino-.  Altoo-ether, 
we  were  favorably  impressed. 

They  told  us  that  the  Protestant  churches  are  increasing 
throughout  the  Islands,  and  their  churches  are  filled  at  every 
service.  We  visited  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  a  very  large 
building  and  quite  attractive  inside.  They  told  us  that  at 
every  service  it  was  crowded,  so  evidently  they  are  a  church- 
going  people. 


132  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

We  visited  the  home  of  a  rich  sugar  planter  for  the  purpose 
of  seeing  how  he  and  his  family  lived.  It  was  a  treat.  The 
house  was  large,  like  all  Filipino  houses ;  they  did  not  occupy 
the  ground  floor,  but  used  the  next  floor  for  living  rooms, 
and  the  second  floor  up,  for  bedrooms.  All  the  rooms  were 
larger  than  in  American  houses,  I  might  say  twice  as  large  as 
ours  at  home.  We  saw  ruins  of  several  large  houses,  showing 
the  tovv^n  had  gone  back  since  the  good  old  Spanish  days. 

The  harbor  of  Cadiz  is  three  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
city  and  the  channel  is  narrow  and  crooked,  with  only  fifteen 
feet  of  water,  so  it  is  unimportant;  but  having  a  railroad  to 
Iloilo,  the  harbor  is  not  required  much,  although  small  coasting 
boats  call  there.  The  small  wharf  is  concrete  and  broken  down. 
In  conclusion,  I  would  say  that  the  Island  of  Panay  is  rich  in 
agriculture,  but  requires  labor  to  develop,  there  being  too 
much  land  not  in  use. 

We  left  Cadiz  landing  9:30  p.  m.,  the  launch  from  the 
steamer  coming  for  us,  and  we  sailed  at  10:30  for  Mangarin 
on  the  Island  of  Mindora,  arriving  there  at  10:30  a.  m., 
Thursday,  December  14;  anchored  in  harbor  and  went  ashore, 
then  going  by  train  ten  miles  to  the  sugar  mill.  The  road 
is  a  three-foot  gauge,  but  not  all  ballasted.  It  will  be  a  good 
road  when  put  in  order.  The  sugar  mill  is  well  advanced,  but 
no  cane  will  be  ready  for  grinding  for  a  year.  They  have  a 
town  of  small  houses  and  are  employing  fourteen  hundred 
men.  At  present  have  over  five  hundred  acres  planted  out. 
They  propose  bringing  raw  sugar  from  Iloilo  and  refining 
it  to  supply  the  Philippine  market;  but  at  this  time  next 
year  they  will  have  their  own  cane  to  grind.  They  are  expend- 
ing large  sums  of  money,  have  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land 
and  one  of  the  best  mills  that  money  can  buy;  and  the  soil 
situation  and  possibilities  are  such  that  they  no  doubt  will  make 
good,  as  they  thoroughly  understand  the  sugar  business.  They 
claim  to  be  very  much  handicapped  for  want  of  labor  on  the 
start,  but  that  has  to  a  great  extent  been  overcome;  otherwise, 
they  would  have  had  a  crop  to  grind  this  year.  Their  wharf  is 
too  small  for  tramp  steamers,  but  they  propose  to  enlarge  and 
extend  it  some  three  hundred  feet.     It  is  built  on  a  sand  spit, 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 33 

which  has  been  silting  up,  and  there  is  much  less  water  now 
than  a  year  ago,  so  before  a  steamer  attempts  to  berth,  sound- 
ings should  be  taken. 

The  harbor  is  perfectly  protected  and  easily  approached, 
as  there  is  plenty  of  room  and  water,  although  there  are  some 
shoals  laid  down  on  the  chart  which  must  be  avoided.  On 
a  sunshiny  day,  on  account  of  the  clearness  of  the  water,  it 
is  easy  to  see  the  shallow  spots. 

We  sailed  from  here  at  3  130  for  Manila.  We  certainly 
have  had  a  very  enjoyable  and  pleasant  trip,  and  accomplished 
all  I  set  out  to  do.  Had  we  gone  by  the  regular  steamers, 
it  would  have  taken  from  two  to  three  months  to  have  done 
and  seen  Avhat  only  took  elex'en  days. 

Our  trip  around  the  islands  occupied  eleven  days  and  we 
covered  about  seventeen  hundred  miles.  The  places  visited 
were  Calipan  and  Porta  Galora,  Island  of  Mindora;  Binahain 
and  Camico  on  Raga  Bay,  Island  of  Luzon;  Batan  Coal  Mine, 
Rapa  Rapa,  an  island  near  by ;  Tackloban  on  Island  of  Leyte ; 
Cebu,  Sajay,  Garao  River,  Iloilo,  Cadiz,  Mangarin,  on  Min- 
dora. On  our  return  to  Manila  we  saw  one  of  the  much  talked 
of  fiestas.  It  was  to  commemorate  the  three  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  College  of  Santa  Fomo. 
It  was  a  great  affair.  ]\lany  fine  floats,  banners  without 
number,  bands,  and  men  in  all  kinds  of  uniforms.  After  it  all 
passed  on,  the  thought  came  to  me,  in  all  this  display  not  one 
American  flag  was  visible.  They  were  preceded  by  American 
constabulary,  but  even  these  did  not  show  their  colors.  To 
an  American,  it  certainly  seemed  very  strange. 

We  have  occasional  showers,  but  it  continues  warm  and 
the  shade  is  very  acceptable,  and  in  the  ofiice  section,  fans  or 
punkas  are  necessary. 


134  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 


ADDRESS   OF   MR.   ROBERT  DOLLAR   BEFORE  THE  QUILL   CLUB,   IN 

THE  HOTEL  DE   FRANCE,   MANILA,  THE  EVENING  OF 

DECEMBER  22,   I9II 

1HAVE  been  requested  to  talk  to  you  on  shipping  and 
Manila  as  a  distributing  center. 

Before  commencing,  I  wish  to  compliment  the  Club  on  the 
beautiful  table  decorations,  and  also  to  congratulate  you  on 
the  absence  of  wine. 

A  year  ago  the  Commissioners  from  the  Associated  Cham- 
bers of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  while  at  Hankow, 
visited  the  Yangtse  Engineering  Works.  The  manager  came 
to  me  very  much  distressed  and  informed  me  that  they  had 
plenty  of  w^ine,  but  there  was  not  a  glass  within  seven  miles 
of  their  place.  I  told  him  to  leave  the  matter  in  my  hands, 
and  I  would  arrange  it  satisfactorily. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  party  at  the  table,  I  called  their 
attention  to  the  beautiful  decorations,  as  I  have  done  to  you 
to-night,  and  the  absence  of  the  wine  on  the  table,  and  said 
Mr.  Wong  was  the  only  man  that  had  entertained  us  in  the 
Empire  of  China  that  thoroughly  understood  Americans 
because  he  had  no  wine  on  the  table.  He  was  given  a  great 
ovation  for  knowing  Americans  so  well. 

I  am  pleased  to  see  the  great  movement  amongst  you  in 
your  endeavor  to  make  Manila  the  distributing  port  for  the 
Far  East  for  American  goods.  In  order  for  you,  however, 
to  accomplish  this  result,  you  must  be  able  to  compete  with 
Hong  Kong  and  Shanghai,  the  present  distributing  centers  for 
the  Far  East.  You  must  make  it  easy  and  cheap  for  ships  to 
enter  your  port  and  discharge  and  load  cargoes.  You  must 
cheapen  the  cost  from  ship  to  shore;  the  delays  to  ships  must 
be  avoided  by  providing  better  facilities  for  handling  cargoes. 
When  this  is  done,  you  will  be  able  to  demand  of  the  ship 
owners  the  same  rate  as  your  more  favored  neighbors  get. 

As  you  are  probably  aware  shipping  men  have  a  differential 
against  Manila.  This  you  can  eliminate  by  providing  plenty 
of  lighters,  giving  the  ship  quick  dispatch,  or  if  the  ship  comes 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 35 

to  your  wharves,  you  must  provide  facilities  for  getting  rid 
of  the  cargo,  so  that  the  ship  will  not  be  delayed. 

There  is  no  way  that  cargo  can  be  handled  as  cjuickly  as 
by  lighters,  and  when  the  ship  comes  to  the  wharf,  an  ordinary 
cargo  steamer  has  to  pay  about  $30.00  a  day  for  the  privilege. 

When  the  government  builds  other  wharves,  I  would 
suggest  to  the  Merchants'  Association  that  they  request  the 
government  to  build  the  wharves  much  wider  and  to  provide 
railroad  tracks  on  the  outside  of  the  shed  each  side  of 
the  wharves.  The  sheds  now  come  so  close  to  the  steamer 
that  a  large  steamer  has  difficulty  in  lowering  cargo  betwee'i 
the  ship  and  the  shed. 

Furthermore,  when  heavy  cargo  is  to  be  loaded  or  dis- 
charged, it  has  to  be  carried  from  the  railroad,  in  the  center 
of  the  wharf,  to  the  outside,  so  that  by  having  a  sunken  track 
on  the  side  of  the  wharf,  all  heavy  merchandise  and  machinery, 
especially  bulk  cargoes  could  be  loaded  directly  on  to  the  cars, 
and  stored  in  the  warehouses,  wdiich  are  proposed  to  be  built 
on  the  fill — thereby  decreasing  the  cost  of  handling  such 
commodities  as  iron,  cement,  flour,  machinery,  and  all  heavy 
bulk  cargoes.     This  will  effect  savings  to  your  merchants. 

Coming  more  particularly  to  shipping,  it  is  a  crying  shame 
that  our  government  has  not  caused  to  be  established  a  direct 
steamship  line  between  San  Francisco  and  Manila.  I  consider 
it  nothing  short  of  a  national  disgrace  that  passengers,  and 
especially  mails,  have  to  be  peddled  through  various  Japanese 
and  Chinese  ports,  ultimately  reaching  Manila  in  double  the 
time  that  should  have  been  occupied. 

The  steamship  line  running  direct  should  be  paid  full 
and  liberal  compensation  for  services  rendered  in  carrying 
the  mail.  I  am  opposed  to  subsidies,  as  I  do  not  consider  them 
necessary  when  the  service  can  be  rendered  without  costing 
the  government  anything :  namely,  as  was  proposed  some  years 
ago  to  turn  the  transports  over  to  a  company  who  would  agree 
to  run  a  line  of  steamers  twice  a  month  from  San  Francisco 
to  Manila,  the  time  occupied'^ot  to  exceed  sixteen  days  on 
the  voyage;  the  government  to  give  this  line  the  carrying 
of  all  its  freight,  troops  and  passengers,  at  a  price  less  than 
what  it  costs  them  now.  By  doing  this,  the  line  of  steamers 
would  be  able  to  carry  out  this  service  without  any  com- 


136  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

pensation.  The  transports  could  either  be  laid  up,  or  engaged 
in  other  service,  as  they  are  too  slow  to  maintain  a  reasonably 
fast  service  across  the  Pacific. 

Coming  down  to  coastwise  navigation.  When  I  look  into 
the  prices  that  the  ship  owners  charge  you  merchants  I  con- 
sider it  outrageous,  but  when  I  come  to  investigate  the 
unreasonably  slow  dispatch  that  steamers  are  getting,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  not  charging  vou  quite  enough. 
In  all  seriousness,  I  see  that  this  condition  of  affairs  is  a 
great  handicap  on  the  commerce  of  these  Islands,  and  should 
be  remedied  at  once,  you  merchants  giving  the  vessels  cargoes 
as  quickly  as  they  can  handle  them,  and  taking  it  away  from 
them  as  quickly  as  they  can  discharge;  also,  you  in  turn, 
forcing  the  shipowners  to  handle  cargoes  as  expeditiously  as 
is  done  in  other  countries. 

Coming  down  to  inter-island  navigation,  I  would  say  that 
the  aids  to  navigation  in  the  way  of  lighthouses,  buoys,  and 
beacons,  are  much  better  than  we  have  on  the  west  coast  of 
America,  and  reflect  great  credit  on  the  government  of  these 
islands.  In  this  connection,  I  would  also  call  your  attention 
to  the  great  work  that  the  government  has  done  for  you  in  the 
way  of  providing  such  a  fine  harbor  and  docks  here,  and  the 
fine  harbor  they  have  made  in  Cebu,  giving  them  a  custom 
house  that  would  be  worthy  of  a  city  of  a  quarter  of  a  million 
inhabitants.  In  Iloilo  a  good  deal  of  work  has  been  done  and 
a  great  deal  is  under  way,  so  that  in  the  near  future,  those 
two  ports  will  be  a  credit  to  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Now,  I  come  to  what  the  Islands  want.  There  is  a  dense 
ignorance  in  the  United  States  on  the  conditions  of  affairs 
of  the  Islands,  and  the  process  of  education  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  dispel  the  lack  of  knowledge  which  prevails  at 
present.  In  this  connection,  I  would  say  that  you  have  taken 
a  step  in  the  right  direction  in  sending  Mr.  Steward  as  your 
commissioner  to  accomplish  this  result.  It  is  a  common  fallacy 
that  these  Islands  receive  a  large  sum  from  the  United  States 
Treasury  to  keep  up  this  government.  I  would  remind  Mr. 
Stewart  to  convince  our  people  that  this  is  not  the  case. 

Of  all  the  States,  and  especially  of  all  the  cities  that  should 
be  interested  in  your  welfare,  are  California  and  San  Fran- 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I 37 

Cisco,  and  I  am  very  sorry  to  say  that  there  is  a  great  lack  of 
interest  even  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco  in  your  affairs. 

On  my  return  home,  I  will  do  my  utmost  to  change  this 
indifference  to  active  co-operation  with  you.  We  are  especially 
interested  there  in  Oriental  trade.  As  a  proof  of  this,  we  sent 
a  commission  from  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  to 
Japan.  They  in  turn,  sent  a  commission  to  pay  a  return  visit ; 
and  last  year,  the  government  of  China  sent  an  invitation  to 
the  merchants  to  visit  them  from  our  coast,  and  I  now  carry 
with  me  an  invitation  for  the  Chinese  merchants  to  visit  us, 
next  year.  We  have  provided  an  itinerary  for  them  which 
covers  twelve  thousand  miles  by  rail  in  our  country,  and 
involves  the  visiting  of  sixty-three  of  our  largest  cities.  I 
mention  this  to  remind  you  that  you  have  never  sent  us  a 
public  invitation  to  visit  you,  neither  have  the  merchants  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  ever  sent  )^ou  an  invitation  to  visit  us.  Therefore, 
the  lack  of  interest  seems  to  be  mutual. 

I  would  ask  you,  gentlemen,  to  think  seriously  of  this 
matter  and  endeavor  to  create  a  closer  friendship  between 
yourselves  and  ourselves. 

I  now  come  to  a  matter  which  is  of  vital  interest  to  us 
all:  that  is,  the  191 5  Exposition  in  San  Francisco.  The 
Directors  of  the  Exposition  appointed  me  a  Special  Com- 
missioner to  the  Empire  of  Japan  and  China  to  induce  those 
countries  to  make  a  large  exhibit.  I  met  the  authorities  in 
Japan  and  had  a  favorable  reception,  and  hope  before  I  leave 
for  home,  to  accomplish  good  results.  I  then  went  to  China; 
but  as  my  mission  was  to  the  government,  and  as  I  failed  to 
find  the  government,  did  not  accomplish  anything. 

A  significant  fact  in  this  connection  is  that  our  people  did 
not  commission  me  to  speak  to  you  on  this  subject,  they 
knowing  full  well  that  your  interest  would  be  sufficient  without 
words  of  mine,  and  that  the  Philippine  Islands  will  make  one 
of  the  best  if  not  the  very  best  exhibits  of  all  the  countries 
that  will  participate. 

From  the  talks  that  I  have  had  with  your  merchants,  I 
am  quite  confident  in  saying  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  urge 
you  to  accomplish  those  results,  so  I  will  go  back  to  the 
Directors  of  the  Exposition  and  report  to  them  that  every- 
thing will  be  done  on  the  Philippine  Islands  necessary  to  have 
un  exhibit  of  which  we  will  be  proud. 


138  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

I  thank  you  for  your  kind  attention  and  would  say  that 
I  trust  that  you  will  take  my  remarks  in  the  spirit  they  were 
given — a  sincere  desire  to  see  prosperity  on  the  Islands. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  say  that  no  people  could  have  done 
more  toward  making  my  stay  a  pleasant  one  than  you  have. 
This  applies  equally  to  the  Government,  Governor  General, 
and  you  merchants,  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  on  my 
arrival  home,  I  will  do  what  I  can  to  forward  your  interests. 

About  100  representative  men  of  Manila  attended  the 
dinner.  In  fact,  a  full  list  of  American  business  men  who 
seemed  to  be  much  interested  in  what  I  said.  Several  spoke 
to  me  about  it,  next  day.  Mr.  McMee  of  Australia  spoke  on 
Australia,  and  Mr.  Adams  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  the  use  of 
refuse  hemp,  which  was  practical  and  to  the  point. 

Exposition — The  people  are  in  dead  earnest  in  making 
a  great  exhibit  in  San  Francisco  in  191 5,  and  I  feel  sure  it 
will  meet  our  most  sanguine  expectations. 

Direct  Steamship  Communication — They  are  very  much 
alive  to  the  necessity  of  this,  and  I  think  a  concerted  effort 
on  their  part,  backed  by  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce, would  have  some  effect. 

Business  in  General — Throughout  the  Islands  business  is 
very  good,  and  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  sugar  is  likely 
to  keep  up,  so  we  can  look  forward  with  confidence  to  an 
increasing  trade  during  191 2.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that  the  Islands  are  by  far  the  most  prosperous  of  the  whole 
Orient  to-day.  Had  the  revolution  not  broken  out,  China 
would  have  been  a  close  second. 

Steamer  "Ruby"  Bound  From  Manila  to  Hong  Kong 

Christmas,  1911 — I  forgot  to  write  that  the  Californians 
have  a  club  and  that  they  gave  me  a  complimentary  luncheon  at 
which  I  spoke  of  California  matters  of  interest  to  us  all.  I 
said  I  had  a  message  of  good  cheer  for  them  on  the  great 
improvement  that  is  going  on  in  the  State  of  California  and 
the  city  of  San  Francisco.  The  election  of  Rolph,  and  the 
confession  of  the  McNamaras  mark  a  new  era  for  San 
Francisco  as  it  had  been  held  back  and  bound  down  by  labor 
unions.    The  consolidation  of  all  our  big  commercial  organiza- 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 39 

tions  and  the  hope  of  having  a  Greater  San  Francisco  before 
the  Exposition  opens;  the  location  of  docks  at  the  Fair 
grounds  so  that  ships  can  discharge  their  exhibits  on  cars 
to  go  direct  to  the  various  buildings  appealed  to  them,  and 
they  will  be  as  one  man  in  doing  all  that  is  possible  to  get 
good  exhibits  and  plenty  of  them. 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  two  hours,  and  I  must  say  they 
are  a  fine  lot  of  fellows.  I  cannot  help  remarking  on  the 
great  change  in  the  men  from  ten  years  ago.  Then,  the 
goodness  and  ability  of  a  man  was  sized  up  by  the  amount  of 
whiskey  he  could  get  away  with.  Now,  the  ordinary  decent 
business  man  is,  as  at  home,  measured  by  his  temperate 
habits.  In  fact,  this  change  is  very  noticeable  over  the  entire 
Far  East,  but  more  particularly  in  the  Philippine  Islands. 
This  is  shown  by  the  number  of  young  men  who  have  started 
with  nothing  and  are  now  well  off. 

Manila — In  further  looking  over  the  loading  and  dis- 
charging of  the  coastwise  vessels,  I  find  no  improvement  in 
the  way  of  quicker  work  than  ten  years  ago.  Winches  as 
a  general  rule  are  not  used  unless  it  is  to  lower  or  lift  the 
cargo  out  of  the  hold  and  land  on  deck;  from  there  it  is 
invariably  carried  to  or  from  the  ship  on  a  single  plank  in 
about  the  most  happy-go-lucky  manner  one  could  imagine. 
The  government  has  taken  the  regulation  of  rates  into  its 
own  hands,  as  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  at  home, 
and  have  cut  some  of  the  rates  in  two,  so  this  will  compel 
ship  owners  to  force  better  dispatch.  The  lumber  rate  from 
Zamboanga  to  Manila  will  serve  to  illustrate:  The  rate  is 
fixed  at  $8.00  Gold  per  looo  feet  for  lumber — distance  508 
miles.  A  mill  owner  boasted  to  me  that  he  actually  gave  a 
steamer  60,000  feet  a  day.  Loading  this  was  a  record.  A 
steamer  carrying  800,000  feet  had  been  five  weeks  away  from 
Manila  and  had  not  returned  when  I  left  on  a  voyage  from 
Zamboanga;  so  that  the  small,  petty  way  of  loading  and 
discharging  makes  business  impossible,  and  for  engaging  in 
the  coastwise  trade  I  consider  the  Philippines  a  good  place 
to  stay  away  from  even  at  rates  that  are  high  above  all  reason 
— the  very  highest  in  the  world. 

With  ocean  going  steamers  it  is  much  better,  but  take  the 
case  of  the  "Bessie  Dollar."    A  deck  load  of  piles  always  goes 


140  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

overboard  in  one  day,  but  here  they  have  to  be  cribbed  many 
tiers  deep,  the  result  being  156  pieces  discharged  first  day, 
and  190  pieces  the  second  day.  In  the  future,  we  must  exact 
a  much  higher  freight  than  to  any  other  port.  In  lumber  the 
very  best  we  can  hope  for  is  a  maximum  of  200,000  feet 
daily.  It  takes  two  men  to  do  the  work  one  Chinaman  would 
do,  and  the  same  results  can  not  be  obtained.  For  comparison, 
see  the  time  one  of  our  steamers  takes  to  discharge  in 
Shanghai  or  Manila.  In  time,  I  think  it  will  improve,  but 
that  is  quite  a  long  way  off.  We  will  have  an  opportunity  of 
finding  out  how  they  can  handle  copra,  as  we  have  5,000 
measurement  tons  to  go  on  board. 

The  government  very  kindly  put  a  steam  launch  at  my 
disposal  to  take  me  from  Manila  to  Battan  across  the  bay, 
twenty-five  miles  distant,  to  visit  the  lumbering  establishment 
of  the  Cadwallader  Gibson  Lumber  Co.  Mr.  Cadwallader  was 
good  enough  to  accompany  me  and  show  me  around.  We 
landed  at  the  mill,  which  is  on  the  edge  of  the  bay.  It  is 
new  and  some  construction  work  is  yet  being  done.  There 
are  two  mills  close  together  with  separate  power  for  each.  A 
band  mill  looked  to  me  to  be  about  twelve  inches,  and  the 
other  about  fifty-six-inch  circular  wnth  small  top  saw,  each  one 
having  the  necessary  adjuncts  of  edger,  trimmer,  etc.,  capable 
of  handling  the  output  of  the  head  saws.  Nearly  all  the  logs 
are  sinkers,  so  the  cars  are  expeditiously  unloaded  with  a  very 
good  steam  crane  or  derrick,  and  piled  up  conveniently  at  the 
log  slips.  The  finished  product  is  slid  down  skids  to  barges 
or  scows,  where  it  is  loaded  for  Manila,  the  entire  output 
going  there.  At  high  water,  barges  can  go  out  of  the  small 
river  from  where  they  are  towed  by  the  company's  tug,  a 
very  cheap  and  good  way  of  handling  the  cut  as  long  as 
Manila  can  take  it. 

All  the  buildings  presented  a  neat  appearance,  and  the 
employes  are  well  housed.  The  general  appearance  of  the 
plant  appeared  to  me  to  be  in  a  healthy  and  very  ship-shape 
condition.  One  thing,  however,  struck  me  very  forcibly,  and 
that  was  the  number  of  men  employed.  In  many  places  in 
the  mill  I  saw  as  many  as  three  men  doing  the  work  that  one 
American  does  at  home.     Surely  two  men  should  do  the  work 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I4I 

of  one  man,  or  they  are  a  very  worthless  lot  and  not  deserving 
of  Mr.  Taft's  definition  "Our  Brown  Brother." 

The  railroad  equipment  is  a  little  short  of  cars,  but  plenty 
are  on  the  way.  They  have  two  Shay  locomotives,  one  25- 
ton,  the  other  about  18-ton.  They  were  fortunate  in  selecting 
this  type,  as  no  other  could  operate  on  the  extremely  difficult 
railroad. 

Logging  Camp — They  also  have  a  small  Porter  locomotive. 
Except  for  switching  or  light  work  it  is  not  of  much  assist- 
ance, but  the  two  Shays  are  ample  for  all  their  requirements. 
I  have  built  many  logging  roads,  but  this  one  is  the  most 
difficult  one  I  have  seen.  I  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Mt.  Tamalpais  Railroad,  and  we  thought  it  a  great  under- 
taking, but  this  road  is  even  more  difficult.  Their  camp 
is  900  feet  above  the  ocean,  only  four  miles  away.  They 
have  held  the  maximum  grade  down  to  about  seven  per  cent, 
and  even  with  this  they  have  a  long  switchback  so  as  to  gain 
the  elevation.  In  going  further,  they  will  be  compelled  to  put 
in  an  incline  which  is  undesirable,  but  it  looks  as  though  it 
can  not  be  avoided.  These  people  certainly  deserve  the  praise 
and  commendation  of  the  government  in  opening  up  and 
developing  such  a  difficult  logging  operation,  and  furnishing 
money  from  timber  dues  from  a  country  that  to  an  ordinary 
lumberman  would  seem  impossible.  I  was  pleased  in  going 
beyond  their  cutting  into  the  forest,  to  see  that  the  timber 
was  better  and  the  country  more  advantageous  for  lumbering. 
All  this  they  richly  deserve  for  their  pluck  and  get-up.  I  was 
especially  interested  in  the  actual  logging  operation  in  such 
a  rough,  broken  country,  as  in  all  lumbering  here  is  where 
the  money  is  made  or  lost.  I  found  their  equipment  the  very 
best  and  most  up-to-date.  As  it  all  came  from  the  Pacific 
Coast,  there  was  nothing  new  to  me.  The  method  of  handling 
the  logs  was  the  same  as  in  Washington  or  Oregon,  except  as 
changes  had  to  be  made  to  suit  the  changed  condition  of  this 
very  rough  country.  With  us,  one  donkey  takes  the  logs 
from  the  stump  to  the  railroad.  Here,  they  have  to  use  two 
relays.  For  instance,  one  donkey  brought  the  logs  from  the 
stump  to  the  edge  of  a  big  ravine;  then  another  donkey  took 
them  across  the  ravine  by  an  overhead  i^-inch  wire  and 
trolley;  then  a  third  donkey  loaded  them  on  the  cars;  and  still 


142  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

another  donkey  hauled  them  from  stump  to  track,  where  a 
small  one  loaded  them  on  the  cars.  From  the  foregoing,  you 
will  see  that  logging  is  not  a  cheap  proposition.  The  railroad 
was  all  laid  with  40-lb.  steel;  the  track  well  built,  and  the 
bridges  very  substantial.  The  road  is  new,  but  I  saw  some 
ties  that  had  rotted,  so  they  must  select  wood  that  will  not 
rot  as  soon  as  it  is  put  in. 

At  the  camp,  I  noticed  a  number  of  families  living  in 
houses  that  had  just  been  erected.  I  inquired  about  the  title 
to  the  right  of  way,  and  was  astonished  to  find  they  had  no 
title  and  that  any  one  could  homestead  a  claim  across  their 
track,  fence  it  ofif,  and  shut  their  wind  off.  Surely  all  that 
would  be  necessary  would  be  to  make  the  proper  representa- 
tions and  get  a  proper  deed  to  the  right  of  way  as  is  done  in 
any  other  country.  It  is  enterprises  of  this  kind  that  will 
ultimately  be  the  backbone  of  these  Islands,  and  as  time  goes 
on  they  will  be  more  appreciated  than  they  are  now.  In  this 
connection,  I  heard  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  say  that  he 
was  opposed  to  the  government  selling  large  tracts  of  land 
and  wanted  the  land  kept  for  the  Filipinos.  From  what  I  have 
seen  of  them,  it  would  run  away  into  the  dim  and  distant 
future  before  the  Filipinos  would  start  enterprises  similar  to 
those  I  have  tried  to  describe. 

SHANGHAI,  Jan'y  13,  191 2 — Matters  connected  with  the 
revolution  are  moving  so  fast,  it  is  about  impossible  to  keep  in 
close  touch  with  them.  It  is  like  looking  through  a  kaleido- 
scope— every  time  you  look  it  has  changed.  Peace  negotiations 
have  fallen  through  and  war  will  be  resumed.  The  great 
movement  is  now  on  Peking,  and  revolutionary  troops  are 
moving  from  Hankow  in  that  direction.  During  my  absence 
in  Manila,  Nanking  had  been  taken  by  the  republicans.  A 
big  movement  is  going  on  from  Nanking  by  way  of  Pukow 
over  that  railroad,  but  there  is  a  100-mile  unfinished  gap 
between  there  and  Tientsin  and  they  have  little  rolling  stock, 
but  that  is  being  ferried  across  the  Yangtze  from  the  Shanghai- 
Nanking  road  to  Pukow.  Then  another  army  is  on  board 
several  steamers  on  the  way  to  Chinwangtao.  It  will  be  some 
time  before  they  can  concentrate  those  three  armies,  and  I 
hardly  expect  the  attack  on  Peking  will  take  place  until  the 
three  armies  concentrate  in  front  of  that  city. 


I '  ROBERT  DOLLAR  1 43 

Very  little  fighting  has  occurred  lately.  The  Imperial 
soldiers  at  Lanchow  coal  mines  mutinied  and  they  had  a 
battle;  the  Imperialists  prevailed.  The  Imperial  troops  after 
the  capture  of  Nanking  retreated  towards  Peking  by  way  of 
the  Pukow  railroad.  They  must  be  at  Peking  if  they  kept  on 
going.  The  rebels  are  gaining  fast  in  numbers  every  day. 
That  is  about  the  military  situation. 

Political — Sun  Yat  Sen  has  established  the  government  in 
Nanking  and  is  rapidly  getting  a  modern,  up-to-date  gov- 
ernment into  shape.  They  claim  to  be  getting  in  plenty  of 
money,  and  they  are  certainly  paying  their  bills  and  the 
soldiers  as  they  go  along.  No  doubt  they  will  have  trouble 
in  harmonizing  the  ambitions  and  plans  of  their  own  members, 
but  they  appear  to  succeed.  I  think  it  was  a  mistake  to  have 
moved  Wu  Ting  Fang  from  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to 
that  of  Laws,  as  he  is  well  informed  on  Foreign  Affairs.  I 
had  an  interview  with  him  the  other  day,  on  the  subject  of 
recognition  by  the  United  States  of  the  new  republic,  which 
showed  me  he  was  thoroughly  master  of  the  subject. 

January  i8,  19 12 — The  military  situation  remains  about 
the  same  as  outlined  in  my  last,  except  that  all  the  Imperial 
troops  have  left  Hankow  and  Hanyang  and  retreated  towards 
Peking,  leaving  the  rebels  in  full  possession  of  all  the  territory 
centering  towards  Hankow,  Wuchang,  and  Hanyang,  so  peace 
is  restored  for  the  time  being  in  that  much  afflicted  country. 

It  is  now  reported  that  the  Revolutionists  are  concentrat- 
ing their  forces  in  Chefoo,  preparatory  to  crossing  the  Gulf 
of  Pechili  to  advance  on  Peking.  At  Woosung,  yesterday, 
I  saw  four  transports.  One  was  fuly  loaded  with  soldiers, 
the  others  evidently  waiting  for  their  allotment  of  revolu- 
tionists, no  doubt  destined  for  Chefoo.  There  is  still  great 
activity  in  military  affairs,  and  soldiers  can  be  seen  moving  in 
every  direction.  From  all  accounts,  the  Manchus  are  making 
great  preparations  to  prevent  a  landing  along  the  shores  of 
the  Gulf  of  Pechili. 

Political — An  attempt  to  blow  up  Yuen  Shai  Kai  with  a 
bomb  failed,  but  some  policemen  and  attendants  were  killed. 
Yuen  was  on  his  way  from  the  Forbidden  City  to  the  Foreign 
OflFice,  where  he  lives.  He  had  been  to  a  conference  with  the 
Manchu  Princes.     It  is  generally  reported  that  the  Emperor 


144  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

would  abdicate  the  throne  and  the  Court  would  move  to 
Ichol,  where  the  late  Empress  Dowager  went  during  the 
Boxer  troubles.  It  looks  as  though  this  is  the  best  move — try 
and  get  a  fixed  sum  per  annum,  and  step  down  and  out — as 
in  reality  there  is  no  show  whatever  of  their  retaining  power, 
and  if  they  fight  it  out  to  a  finish,  they  will  get  nothing;  but 
from  all  accounts,  the  Royal  family  have  any  amount  of  money. 
In  fact,  it  is  very  hard  to  believe  the  accounts  of  the  stealing 
of  the  peoples'  money  by  the  higher-ups. 

Reception — The  fifteenth  of  January  was  the  celebration 
of  the  formation  of  the  New  Republic,  and  a  grand  reception 
was  given  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  to  which  we  were 
invited  and  which  we  attended.  It  was  given  in  the  Great 
Temple  to  the  Queen  of  Heaven.  This  great  rambling  build- 
ing occupies  a  block  in  the  city  of  Shanghai.  There  must 
have  been  over  one  hundred  Chinese  merchants  receiving  at 
different  places  before  we  got  to  the  Holy  of  Holies,  or  Inner 
Court,  where  we  met  the  President,  Vice-President,  and  some 
leaders  of  the  revolution.  Here,  wine,  cake,  tea,  etc.,  were 
served  in  regular  old  Chinese  style.  At  this  function  we  met 
all  the  leaders  in  the  Chinese  community  and  they  seemed 
especially  well  pleased  at  my  visit.  The  crowd  on  the  streets 
was  so  great  that  even  with  the  assistance  of  the  police,  we 
could  not  get  to  the  door  of  the  temple  with  an  auto,  so  got 
out  and  crowded  our  way  to  the  entrance.  Once  inside,  all 
was  in  perfect  order.  We  left  the  building  by  another  door. 
Here,  the  crowd  was  packed  so  densely  that  it  seemed 
impossible  to  get  out,  but  a  company  of  Seiks  cleared  a  way 
and  we  got  into  the  crowd  but  had  quite  a  job  to  regain  the 
auto.  They  were  all  in  good  humor  and  there  was  no  violence. 
In  fact,  they  were  glad  to  see  us.  On  all  the  streets  in  this 
vicinity,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  it  was  a  seething  mass 
of  humanity.    The  reception  was  held  from  2  to  4  o'clock. 

CHINWANGTAO,  January  23,  19 12 — On  arrival  here, 
we  found  the  harbor  full  of  steamers,  and  had  to  remain 
outside  all  night  until  a  steamer  sailed  to  give  us  a  berth. 
The  water  had  a  skim  of  ice  on  it  as  well  as  the  ocean  outside, 
but  it  was  only  a  couple  of  inches  thick.  The  transport 
"Logan"  had  just  arrived  with  700  American  troops  from 
Manila.    The  other  vessels  in  the  harbor  were  coasting  vessels. 


CHANG  CHIEX 

President   of  the  Provincial  Assembly  of  Kiangsu    Province, 

Minister  of  Commerce  during  Provisional   Government 

Is  expected  to  head  Party  to  Visit  the  U.  S.  in  1913 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I 45 

On  arrival,  it  was  not  necessary  to  be  told  we  had  arrived 
in  a  country  that  was  engaged  in  war.  British  soldiers 
boarded  our  steamer  to  guard  it,  and  a  strong  guard  of  German 
soldiers  patrolled  the  wharf.  Many  Chinese  soldiers  were  to 
be  seen  everywhere.  The  fortification  on  the  hill  had  its  guns 
all  trained  on  the  harbor  and  entrance.  On  shore  were  the 
camps  of  the  various  nations,  each  having  a  company  of 
soldiers.  The  wharves  were  littered  with  military  supplies  of 
all  kinds.  We  learned  that  three  successive  steamers  had 
brought  in  $1,800,000.00,  $1,500,000.00  and  our  steamer 
$1,000,000.00.  It  is  said  that  money  is  the  sinew  of  war, 
so  evidently  they  are  getting  ready. 

On  the  train  to  Tientsin  were  all  kinds  and  conditions 
of  people,  a  great  many  soldiers  of  various  nations,  and  many 
Chinese.  Every  station  was  guarded  with  foreign  troops  and 
great  quantities  of  army  stores  were  stored  at  every  station 
along  the  line.  At  Langshaw  we  passed  through  what  was 
the  battlefield  of  a  few  days  ago,  and  on  the  side  of  the  track 
were  the  bodies  of  some  officers  who  had  been  beheaded. 
They  were  stripped  naked  before  decapitation  and  their  bodies 
were  not  buried,  but  left  to  be  eaten  by  dogs.  This  was  the 
punishment  for  rebelling  against  the  Imperial  Government. 

TIENTSIN,  January  22,,  igi2 — This  winter  has  been  very 
mild.  The  upper  reaches  of  the  Pei  Ho  have  not  frozen  over 
and  boats  are  still  in  use.  The  lower  reaches  are  frozen  over, 
but  a  steamer  was  in  at  Tangku  on  the  twelfth  of  January. 
This  has  not  been  possible  for  the  past  thirty  years.  This  is 
fortunate  for  the  troops  that  are  encamped.  Six  thousand 
soldiers  from  various  nations  are  in  this  city.  Last  night, 
three  hundred  and  fifty  Americans  arrived.  The  British  sent 
a  band  and  half  a  regiment  to  the  railway  station  to  escort 
them  to  their  camping  ground.  I  was  pleased  to  see  it,  as  it 
showed  a  fraternal  feeling  between  the  two  nations.  They 
are  a  fine  looking  lot  of  men  and  it  is  hoped  they  will  get 
away  with  as  good  a  reputation  as  the  last  American  troops 
did  who  were  here  during  the  Boxer  uprising. 

Political  affairs  are  badly  mixed.  An  attempt  was  made 
to  assassinate  Yuen  Shi  Kai,  who  never  returned  to  the 
Imperial  Palace,  but  some  of  the  Princes  have  visited  him  at 
the  Foreign  Office  where  he  lives.     Since  the  attempt  on  his 


146  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

life,  the  Emperor  has  refused  to  abdicate.  Previously  it  was 
all  arranged  that  he  would,  so  in  Peking  they  appear  to  be 
at  sixes  and  sevens,  and  in  this  great  uncertainty  no  one  knows 
what  is  going  to  happen.  Yuen  has  about  5,000  troops  who 
are  loyal  to  him,  and  the  Manchus  have  over  10,000  troops 
all  ready  to  fly  at  each  other's  throats.  All  of  this  is  outside 
of  the  rebels  who  are  advancing  on  Peking,  but  yet  a  con- 
siderable distance  away.  To-day,  I  learned  that  the  railway 
was  cut  forty  miles  this  side  of  Hankow.  The  revolutionists 
evidently  have  gotten  that  far,  so  I  have  about  decided  not 
to  attempt  to  go  by  rail  to  Hankow,  but  will  return  by  boat 
from  Chinwangtao  to  Shanghai. 

Political — The  past  few  days  have  been  anxious  and 
exciting.  We  were  cjuite  sure  the  Emperor  would  abdicate 
as  had  been  promised,  but  it  appears  at  the  very  eleventh  hour 
a  disagreement  took  place  between  the  Princes  and  Yuen  Sliai 
Kai,  and  now  it  is  reported  that  the  attempted  assassination 
was  from  the  Manchus,  and  not  from  the  revolutionary  side, 
and  that  one  of  the  Princes  paid  $42,000.00  to  get  the  job 
done.  It  now  looks  as  though  this  version  of  it  is  correct,  as 
he  has  refused  to  go  into  the  Forbidden  City  ever  since.  Mr. 
Montigue,  our  manager,  was  in  a  lumber  yard  in  Peking  when 
the  bomb  went  off.  He  was  about  200  feet  from  the  spot  and 
immediately  ran  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  All  of  the 
Chinese  about  him  were  arrested,  and  he  had  an  excellent 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  affair.  In  a  few  seconds  every 
street  was  blocked  by  soldiers.  He  said  they  came  from  all 
directions,  so  there  was  no  chance  of  escape.  Many  ran  into 
the  lumber  yard  and  were  arrested.  He,  being  an  American, 
was  allowed  to  walk  around.  He  got  some  excellent  kodak 
pictures  right  on  the  spot.  It  caused  great  excitement,  and  if 
it  had  been  known  that  the  Manchus  were  implicated,  war 
would  have  started  right  there.  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
troubled  state  of  affairs,  as  I  am  writing,  our  compradore 
came  in  and  reported  that  General  Chang  came  in  on  the  train 
from  Peking  and  got  into  the  station  a  short  distance  from  our 
office,  when  a  bomb  was  thrown  at  him  and  exploded,  but  he 
came  out  of  it  unhurt  almost  by  a  miracle.  A  policeman  who 
tried  to  arrest  the  assassin  was  shot  down,  but  the  latter  was 
afterwards  captured.     It  does  not  take  months  to  get  a  jury 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  I 47 

as  in  California.  Tomorrow  morning  the  assassin  will  lose 
his  head,  as  it  is  sure  death  to  attempt  assassination  now.  All 
officials  are  strongly  guarded  at  all  times  by  either  the  police 
or  soldiers. 

Military — It  is  reported  that  the  army  now  marching  from 
Hankow  to  Peking  has  gotten  about  half  way  and  has 
possession  of  the  railroad  from  where  they  are  to  Hankow. 

Regarding  the  army  marching  from  Pukow,  no  reports 
are  published,  but  several  detachments  have  been  sent  after  it 
to  increase  the  force.  At  Chefoo  about  5,000  revolutionary 
soldiers  have  assembled  and  reports  say  many  more  are  on 
the  way.  I  think  a  large  force  will  be  assembled  there  before 
attempting  to  cross  the  Gulf  of  Pechili  to  land  in  the  vicinity 
of  Chinwangtao.  I  say  ''vicinity,"  as  the  powers  have  noti- 
fied the  republicans  that  this  port  is  neutral  and  that  they 
must  not  attempt  to  land  there  as  they  would  meet  the  resist- 
ance of  the  foreign  troops.  As  their  troops  are  all  raw  recruits, 
no  doubt  they  will  delay  the  attack  as  long  as  possible  so  as 
to  get  their  troops  well  drilled. 

There  are  about  10,000  foreign  troops  in  Tientsin. 
There  is  no  means  of  knowing  the  number  of  Imperialists, 
but  I  do  not  think  there  are  many,  as  the  treaty  stipulates  that 
no  armed  Chinaman  shall  remain  nearer  the  city  than  one  mile, 
so  the  camp  is  outside,  but  most  of  the  men  are  at  the  towns 
near  Chinwangtao.  Two  thousaand  soldiers  passed  here  to- 
day on  their  way  to  Peking,  as  report  says  there  is  great 
danger  of  a  fight  there  between  Yuen  Shi  Kai's  men  and  the 
Manchu  soldiers,  so  it  has  gotten  down  to  a  three-cornered 
fight  now — Imperialists,  Yuen's  men.  and  revolutionists  or  the 
soldiers  of  the  republican  government.  I  think  this  city  is  full 
of  revolutionists  who  are  just  waiting  the  advance  of  their 
soldiers  to  come  out  openly  and  capture  the  city,  which  will 
be  a  prize  on  account  of  the  mint  and  the  arsenal. 

PEKING — The  run  from  Tientsin  to  Peking  takes  three 
hours  by  train.  On  the  way,  at  every  station,  we  saw  a 
company  of  soldiers,  and  at  a  village  outside  of  Peking  was  a 
large  camp  of  British  soldiers.  While  the  railway  is  guarded 
by  foreign  troops,  they  are  not  operating  it.  At  Peking  there 
was  the  usual   bustle  on  the  street,  but  soldiers  of   foreign 


148  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

nations  are  much  in  evidence,  and  in  certain  places  Chinese 
soldiers  line  the  streets. 

I  called  at  the  Embassy  and  had  a  long  talk  with  Minister 
Calhoun,  Mr.  Peck  and  Mr.  Williams,  who  is  First  Secretary, 
and  until  Mr.  Calhoun's  return  two  months  ago  was  Charge- 
de-Aifairs.  I  had  decided  not  to  present  my  credentials 
representing  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition  nor  do  anything 
about  it,  but  he  strongly  advised  me  to  go  ahead,  even  if  the 
government  was  very  uncertain.  So  as  to  get  official  recog- 
nition, I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Ambassador  informing  him  of 
my  mission,  and  Mr.  Williams  went  with  me  to  the  Wai  Wu 
Pu  and  introduced  me  to  His  Excellency,  Mr.  Hu,  who  is  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  The  introduction  was  unneces- 
sary, however,  as  I  had  met  him  before.  I  had  a  very  pleasant 
talk  with  him,  and  he  promised  that  as  soon  as  matters  quieted 
down  he  would  take  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  a  great 
exhibit.  He  was  especially  pleased  that  the  date  of  opening 
was  so  far  off,  as  it  afforded  them  an  opportunity  of  getting 
the  exhibits  ready  before  the  time  came.  I  also  brought  up 
the  proposed  visit  of  the  Chinese  merchants  to  America.  He 
was  very  much  pleased  to  learn  this  and  said  when  the  time 
came  for  them  to  go,  the  government  would  do  all  it  could 
to  assist  in  making  it  a  success  and  that  he  would  urge  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce  to  select  their  best  men  to  go,  as  he 
looked  on  it  as  the  best  thing  that  could  be  done  to  create 
a  friendly  feeling  as  well  as  to  increase  trade  and  commerce. 

Political — I  found  that  the  people  in  North  China  did  not 
understand  the  situation  and  conditions  in  South  China.  Our 
Embassy,  realizing  this,  had  sent  Dr.  Tenny  to  Shanghai  and 
Nanking  to  learn  the  real  conditions  so  that  our  Ambassador 
would  be  able  to  judge  more  intelligently  whether  the  new 
government  was  worthy  of  recognition  or  not.  On  his  return 
I  feel  sure  he  will  put  a  different  complexion  on  the  views 
that  are  now  entertained  by  many  in  North  China :  namely, 
that  this  revolution  does  not  amount  to  anything,  that  the 
government  will  not  last  and  that  they  are  quarreling  amongst 
themselves,  but  I  could  not  find  any  clear  conception  of  what 
would  happen  if  they  went  to  pieces,  as  even  here  it  is  conceded 
on  all  hands  that  the  Manchus  are  done  for  and  have  no  show 
to  retain  power,    and  all    admit    that    Yuen    Shai    Kai  is  an 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I49 

unknown  quantity.  But  I  learned  from  what  appears  to  be 
inside  and  authentic  information  that  he  has  a  complete  under- 
standing with  the  revolutionary  government  and  that  he  is 
only  working  to  get  the  Manchus  out  without  a  civil  war  and 
that  he  is  patriotic  and  honest  in  his  desire  to  help  China. 
Others  believe  that  he  is  working  for  himself,  first  to  over- 
throw the  Manchus,  then  to  destroy  the  new  government  and 
set  up  a  government  with  himself  as  dictator.  I  am  inclined 
to  favor  the  former  and  not  the  latter.  However,  time  can 
only  tell  and  as  stated  before,  no  one  can  foretell  what  will 
take  place  in  China. 

In  conclusion,  would  say  I  received  the  impression  that 
there  was  uncertainty  as  to  what  was  to  happen,  and  that  Yuen 
is  working  with  the  revolutionists  to  keep  China  together, 
undivided,  and  when  the  Manchus  retire,  as  they  must,  he  will 
assume  control  at  Peking,  and  Sun  at  Nanking  and  that  they 
will  form  a  coalition  government  and  combine  forces.  This 
opinion  is  held  by  most  of  the  officials  I  met.  Yuen  has  now 
9,000  troops,  all  housed  in  tlie  vicinity  of  \Vai  \Vu  Pu.  Either 
he  expects  the  Manchus  to  attack  him  or  he  is  massing  those 
troops  to  make  a  showing  of  force  which  appears  to  be 
necessary  at  the  present  time.  But  the  most  unfortunate 
condition  is  that  both  sides  distrust  him  and  all  fear  he  is 
playing  a  double  game.  I  take  the  more  charitable  view  of  it — 
that  he  is  working  for  the  best  interests  of  China,  but  I  must 
say  that  most  of  the  outside  evidence  points  to  the  opposite 
opinion,  so  it  is  most  difficult  to  get  at  a  correct  view  of  the 
situation  at  the  present  moment. 

We  had  intended  going  to  Hankow  by  rail,  but  as  the 
Imperialists  have  possession  of  a  portion  of  the  road  and  the 
revolutionists  another  part,  we  gave  it  up.  This  morning 
in  the  paper  was  an  account  of  dynamite  explosions  under 
two  trains,  and  on  account  of  tampering  with  signals  a 
collision  occurred  resulting  in  considerable  loss  of  life,  so  I 
decided  to  go  to  Shanghai,  thence  by  boat  to  Hankow  and  to 
visit  Nanking  in  passing. 

TIENTSIN,  February  i.  19 12 — On  my  arrival  here 
from  Peking,  I  found  an  invitation  from  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  to  attend  a  complimentary  reception  in  my  honor 
to  be  held  Friday  at  2  :oo  o'clock. 


150  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

The  large  audience  room  was  full  to  overflowing  with 
Chinese  merchants,  and  the  following  invited  foreigners: — 
Major  Nathan,  Consul-General  Knabenshue,  the  Vice-Consul, 
Dr.  Tenny,  and  Mr.  Montigue.  The  hall  was  nicely  decorated 
and  in  the  ante-room,  tea,  champagne,  and  cake  were  served. 
The  President,  Vice-President,  and  most  important  men  of  the 
city  received  me  there.  No  people  could  have  done  more  to 
show  me  respect  than  they  did,  or  rather  it  was  not  so  much 
to  me  as  to  the  nation  which  I  have  the  honor  to  represent. 
They  showed  a  most  unusual  honor  in  the  audience  rising  to 
their  feet  when  I  rose  to  speak  and  remained  standing  during 
the  time  I  was  talking,  and  while  my  speech  was  being  trans- 
lated to  them  by  Mr.  Sun. 

All  this  made  me  think  seriously  that  in  our  business 
relations  with  them  how  careful  we  should  be  not  only  to  be 
strictly  honest,  but  to  be  upright  and  honorable  in  the 
minutest  detail,  as  the  whole  redounds  to  the  honor  of  our 
country.  They  naturally  say  this  is  the  ordinary  way  Ameri- 
cans do  and  act,  and  what  we  do  well,  goes  to  the  credit  of 
Americans  in  general ;  and  when  we  have  renegades  that  don't 
do  right,  what  they  do  is  charged  against  Americans  and  not 
to  the  individuals. 

Altogether,  it  was  a  very  enthusiastic  meeting  and  cannot 
help  but  do  good  in  creating  a  closer  feeling  of  friendship 
between  the  two  nations.  To  give  an  idea  of  how  careful  we 
have  to  be,  this  community  is  under  the  rule  of  the  Manchus. 

The  last  meeting  I  attended  in  Shanghai  was  a  reception 
in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  honor  of  the  members  of  the 
revolutionary  government.  Tientsin  is  the  second  commercial 
city  of  China  and  claims  a  population  of  over  one  million. 

ADDRESS   DELIVERED   BEFORE   THE    CHAMBER    OF    COMMERCE   AT 
TIENTSIN    FEBRUARY    2,    I912,    BY    ROBERT    DOLLAR 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  Chamber: 

Before  commencing  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  the  elaborate 
decorations  in  this  hall,  and  on  behalf  of  the  nation  I  have  the 
honor  to  represent,  I  acknowledge  the  courtesy  you  have 
shown  in  having  the  proportion  of  over  three  American  flags 
to  one  Chinese. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I5I 

I  have  two  subjects  on  which  I  wish  to  speak. 

First,  the  invitation  of  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce of  the  Pacific  Coast  of  America  to  the  ConsoHdated 
Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China. 

Second,  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition  which  sends  a 
message  to  yon. 

As  to  the  first  subject — on  my  arrival  at  Shanghai  I  told 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  invitation,  but  on  account 
of  the  revolution  they  asked  me  not  to  ofiicially  present  it 
then  as  on  account  of  the  war  they  would  be  unable  to  accept. 
On  my  return  to  Shanghai  I  will  present  it  and  recommend  its 
acceptance,  but  the  date  is  to  be  agreed  on  later  when  the  war 
is  over. 

Arrangements  were  completed  before  I  left  America,  for 
the  party  to  leave  Shanghai  in  ^larch  and  go  over  our  rail- 
roads a  distance  of  12.000  miles.  A  special  train  of  sleeping, 
dining,  saloon,  and  baggage  cars  would  be  provided  which 
the  party  could  occupy  the  entire  time  of  their  visit.  Sixty- 
three  of  our  largest  cities  would  be  visited  and  all  our  great 
manufacturing  and  educational  establishments  would  be 
shown. 

Our  late  visits  to  Japan,  and  the  visit  of  our  Commissioners 
to  )'Our  country  last  year  (I  was  a  member  of  each  party), 
were  productive  of  great  good.  Hence  our  extending  the 
present  invitation  to  you,  knowing  that  still  greater  good  will 
come  from  it  also. 

The  other  subject  is  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition. 

The  people  of  our  country  intend  making  this  the  greatest 
Exposition  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Over  forty  million 
dollars  of  your  currency  has  been  provided.  The  Exposition 
grounds  will  be  located  on  the  Golden  Gate,  so  that  the  largest 
steamers  can  lie  at  wharves  which  are  to  be  specially  built 
for  this  occasion.  Railroad  tracks  will  be  laid  from  these 
wharves  to  every  building,  so  there  will  be  no  trans-shipment 
of  exhibits,  which  can  be  returned  to  the  wharves  in  the  same 
way  after  the  Exposition  is  over,  at  a  minimum  of  expense. 

We  especially  want  Chinese  exhibits  on  a  large  scale,  as  it 
is  intended  to  make  the  Exposition  of  a  distinctively  Oriental 
character,  and  an  effort  will  be  made  to  erect  a  permanent 
building   so   that   Oriental    wares   and    products   may   be   on 


152  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

permanent  exhibit  with  a  man  in  charge  who  will  try  to 
develop  and  increase  trade  between  China  and  America. 

On  account  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  government  at  present, 
I  will  be  unable  to  lay  this  matter  before  the  Wai  Wu  Pu, 
but  this  will  be  done  at  some  future  time. 

I  will  close  by  bringing  you  a  message  of  peace  and  good 
will  from  America  to  China,  and  assuring  you  of  our  continued 
friendship  and  good  will,  and  also  assuring  you  that  I  will  be 
most  happy  to  assist  in  every  way  I  can  to  bring  peace  and 
prosperity  to  your  country. 

Political — Bomb  throwing  had  increased  very  much,  and 
several  people  were  killed  or  hurt.  A  search  was  made  by 
the  military  and  police  with  the  result  that  twenty-five  were 
arrested  in  the  French  concession  of  Tientsin  near  our  lumber 
yard,  and  convicted  of  having  bombs  and  munitions  of  war 
in  their  possession.  The  Manchus  requested  that  they  should 
be  turned  over  to  their  tender  mercies.  Had  this  been  done, 
twenty-five  heads  would  have  been  rolling  around  like  foot- 
balls in  less  than  an  hour.  However,  the  prisoners  were 
ordered  deported  to  Shanghai,  as  according  to  French  law, 
they  could  not  be  punished  as  they  had  not  committed  a 
crime.  A  company  of  French  soldiers  were  sent  to  see  them 
safely  to  Shanghai  and  they  all  came  on  the  same  train 
to  Chinwangtao,  and  on  the  steamer  "Kaiping"  with  us  to 
Shanghai.  Every  berth  was  taken  before  they  came,  and  as 
they  had  plenty  of  money  they  wanted  to  travel  first  class. 
Some  slept  second  class,  others  on  lounges  and  the  floor  of 
the  saloon.  They  were  a  very  mixed  lot — Austrians,  Ameri- 
cans (ourselves),  French.  Germans,  Italians,  Danes,  Manchus 
and  revolutionists.  The  leader  was  sentenced  to  life-imprison- 
ment at  Poating-Fu  for  political  reasons,  but  only  served  four 
years  and  was  liberated  when  the  revolutionists  took  the  city. 
It  is  supposed  he  took  the  bombs  to  Peking  to  kill  Yuen  Shai 
Kai.  The  young  men  with  him  are  nearly  all  college  gradu- 
ates and,  therefore,  should  have  known  better,  but  I  suppose 
this  is  war. 

We  never  get  away  from  the  sight  of  soldiers,  either 
foreigners  or  Chinese,  and  we  do  hope  that  peace  will  soon  be 
declared. 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  1 53 

On  arrival  in  Shanghai,  we  expect  to  hear  that  the 
Emperor  has  abdicated. 

NANKING,  Feb'y  lo,  19 12 — The  railroad  from  Shanghai 
to  Nanking  is  well  run,  the  roadbed  good,  as  is  also  the  equip- 
ment. They  run  a  good  dining-car  service.  The  first  class 
coaches  are  compartment  cars  and  comfortable.  The  run  is 
made  in  six  hours.  The  railroad  does  not  run  into  Nanking 
proper,  as  the  terminus  is  outside  the  wall  near  the  bank  of  the 
Yangtse.  The  town  has  been  built  up  between  the  city  wall 
and  the  river.  The  railway  terminus  is  called  Shaikwau.  At 
this  place  is  the  only  European  hotel,  The  Bridge  House,  run 
by  a  Mr.  Martin.  While  the  house  is  Chinese  of  the  old  style, 
it  is  quite  comfortable  and  well  kept.  It  is  about  seven  miles 
from  this  place  to  the  Viceroy  yamen,  so  the  city  of  Nanking 
is  an  enormous  place.  The  outside  wall  is  said  to  be  twenty- 
three  miles  around,  and  the  city  is  composed  of  several  large 
villages  with  cultivated  land  between  them,  the  entire  space 
being  fairly  level. 

There  are  no  large  imposing  buildings  except  the  modern 
ones  of  recent  date,  of  which  the  University  Provincial 
Assembly  buildings  are  the  most  prominent. 

The  roads  are  good.  A  former  Viceroy  made  a  fine 
macadamized  road  from  the  landing  at  the  river  to  his  yamen 
which  is  in  a  good  state  of  repair,  on  which  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  travel :  people  on  foot,  in  Sedan  chairs,  in  open  and 
closed  carriages,  automobiles,  men  hauling  freight  on  trucks, 
horses  in  carts,  and  the  usual  multitude  with  the  bamboo 
pole  and  two  baskets — on  this  road  one  is  never  out  of  sight 
of  the  military.  Soldiers  continually  passed  to  and  fro,  and 
at  the  gates  in  the  city  wall  large  companies  were  on  guard. 

Military — Were  in  evidence  everywhere  and  the  city  is 
well  guarded.  They  seem  to  be  drilling  them  very  hard,  as 
on  almost  any  road,  we  met  companies  in  heavy  marching 
order.  At  the  yamen,  where  the  offices  and  headquarters  of 
the  revolutionists  are  located,  soldiers  are  on  duty  with  fixed 
bayonets  everywhere,  and  it  is  most  difficult  to  get  in.  I 
must  say,  however,  that  I  had  no  difficulty  at  all  as  I  was 
accompanied  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs ;  but  I  noticed 
at  two  places  even  he  had  to  show  his  passport,  and  he  passed 


154  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

me  in.  The  offices  inside  are  quite  temporary  and  fitted 
up  with  the  most  modern  furniture,  roller  top  desks,  safes, 
carpets,  etc.  Like  all  Chinese  buildings,  the  yamen  has  no 
chimneys  and  no  way  of  heating  them,  but  seeing  that  all  the 
officials  have  adopted  American  clothes  and  must  have  heat, 
they  put  in  stoves  and  shoved  the  stove  pipes  out  of  the 
windows,  which  gives  this  ancient,  venerable  place  a  dis- 
reputable appearance,  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  the  highly 
ornamental,  Oriental  surroundings. 

When  the  President  learned  I  was  in  the  yamen,  he 
immediately  sent  his  secretary  to  bring  me  to  his  cjuarters, 
which  are  the  only  ones  of  European  style  within  the  yamen, 
and  were  formerly  occupied  by  Lady  Chan  and  in  which  she 
received  the  ladies  of  the  American  Commercial  Commis- 
sioners' party,  two  years  ago.  What  a  change  has  come  over 
this  place  in  so  short  a  time.  The  President,  Sun  Yat  Sen, 
received  me  very  cordially.  I  had  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
Y.  C.  Tong,  but  the  President  said  he  knew  enough  about  me, 
so  that  an  introduction  was  unnecessary.  However,  he  read 
the  letter  which  he  said  was  very  complimentary.  Our 
conversation  was  principally  on  the  recognition  of  the 
republic  by  the  United  States.  He  was  extremely  anxious 
for  the  recognition  from  the  various  nations,  as  in  the  official 
eyes  of  the  nations,  they  are  only  rebels  as  yet. 

I  pointed  out  to  him  that  it  would  be  easy  after  the 
abdication,  as  that  would  force  the  hands  of  the  other  nations, 
for  if  they  did  not  recognize  his  government,  the  country 
would  be  without  a  recognized  government,  and  I  said  that 
abdication  should  be  forced  as  fast  as  possible.  He  said  he 
hoped  it  would  take  place  within  two  days ;  in  fact,  he  said 
he  had  information  that  it  would  take  place  the  next  day.  He 
expressed  his  satisfaction  that  American  citizens  are  taking 
an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  country  and  that  it  would  not 
be  forgotten  in  time  to  come.  He  was  pleased  that  Am- 
bassador Calhoun  has  sent  Dr.  Tenny  to  investigate  and  report 
on  the  condition  of  the  new  republic.  I  spoke  of  the  proposed 
visit  of  Chinese  merchants  to  our  country,  and,  also,  about  our 
191 5  Exposition.  He  said  the  Chinese  must  make  a  very  large 
and  good  exhibit,  but  in  the  troubled  state  of  affairs  no 
definite  arrangements  could  be  made  at  present,  but  he  would 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  1 55 

keep  it  before  him  and  would  see  that  it  was  attended  to  when 
the  government  was  fully  established  and  in  proper  working 
order. 

The  President  was  dressed  in  the  ordinary  khaki  uniform 
of  an  officer  without  ornamentation  of  any  kind  about  him, 
and  with  a  total  absence  of  fuss  or  frills,  or  of  his  being  the 
great  "I  am ;"  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  impressed  me  as  a 
man  who  realized  he  had  a  tremendous  undertaking  on  his 
hands,  and  that  he  realized  it  so  fully,  that  his  face  expressed 
his  earnestness,  also  tinged  with  sadness.  This  I  took  to 
represent  the  full  appreciation  of  the  work  he  has  undertaken. 
He  is  a  fine  appearing  man,  of  medium  height,  and  appears 
to  be  about  fifty  years  of  age.  His  secretary  and  an  officer 
stood  inside  the  door  of  the  room  while  we  were  talking  and 
heard  all  that  was  said. 

Members  of  flic  Cabinet — I  met  them  all  here,  except  \\n 
Ting  Fang  and  Chang  Chien.  and  with  the  exception  of  these 
two.  they  are  all  comparatively  young  men,  of  from  thirty 
to  forty  years  of  age.  In  everyone's  face,  without  any 
exception,  you  could  read  seriousness  and  a  sense  of  responsi- 
bility, and  all  gave  the  impression  of  being  in  dead  earnest. 
I  called  several  times  on  W'u  Ting  Fang.  He  has  always  been 
a  joker  and  was  the  only  one  who  showed  any  short  spells 
of  lightness  of  heart.  Tang  Shoi  Yei  is  a  very  sober,  solid 
man ;  he,  like  Sun  Yat  Sen,  does  not  talk  very  much  but  is 
more  inclined  to  listen  to  what  you  have  to  say,  rather  than 
give  you  the  opportunity  of  hearing  what  he  has  to  say.  Chang 
Chien,  Minister  of  Commerce.  I  did  not  meet  this  time,  but 
have  met  him  on  several  previous  occasions.  I  have  been 
trying  to  get  him  to  head  the  merchants  who  will  visit  our 
country,  as  he  is  probably  the  most  progressive  and  enter- 
prising merchant  in  China.  To  show  what  each  party  thinks 
of  him.  he  was  offered  and  declined  the  office  of  Minister 
of  Commerce  in  the  Peking  government;  and  now  has 
accepted  the  Portfolio  of  Commerce  with  the  new  government. 
No  doubt  I  will  meet  him  when  I  present  the  invitation  at 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Shanghai. 

An  arrangement  has  been  made  to  form  a  coalition 
government,  and  the  strong  men  in  Yuen  Shai  Kai's  party 
will  join  with  the  strongest  men  in  Sun  Yat  Sen's  cabinet,  so 


156  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

they  should  easily  get  the  best  men  in  China  and  make  a 
strong  government,  headed  by  Yuen  Shai  Kai.  as  President, 
and  it  looks  as  if  he  will  be  the  military  dictator  for  some  time 
to  come.  \Miether  this  will  suit  the  country  remains  to  be 
seen.  I  do  not  think  that  they  will  hit  on  the  right  kind  of 
government  at  first,  and  it  will  have  to  be  changed  later  on. 

Business — Around  Nanking  there  is  quite  a  lot  doing, 
but  it  is  all  caused  by  the  establishment  of  the  new  government 
here.  Ordinarily  there  is  very  little  business  in  this  city,  and 
this  spurt  is  but  temporar}'.  While  the  seat  of  government 
is  located  here,  and  while  they  say  it  is  permanently  estab- 
lished here.  I  don't  think  it  is.  I  believe  when  the  coalition 
government  is  formed  it  will  be  established  in  Peking  so  the 
rush  of  business  caused  by  the  capital  will  be  transferred  to 
Tientsin  and  Peking. 

Yangtsc  Rizw — The  water  is  abnormally  high  at  this  time 
of  the  year.  An  ocean  steamer  drawing  eighteen  feet  could 
safely  go  to  Hankow  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  there  will 
be  no  real  low  water  this  year,  yet  it  is  not  safe  to  predict 
what  this  great  river  will  do. 

W'e  went  from  Nanking  to  Hankow  on  the  steamer 
"Kinling."  of  the  Butterfield  and  Swires'  Lines,  a  twin  screw 
boat,  and  one  of  the  most  comfortable  and  well  furnished  and 
equipped  passenger  boats  on  which  I  have  ever  traveled.  I 
was  the  only  first  class  passenger.  It  shows  to  what  extent 
the  revolution  has  cut  into  business,  when  a  fine  large  steamer 
like  this  has  only  one  first  class  passenger.  There  are  quite 
a  number  of  Chinese,  but  not  nearly  so  many  as  usual.  The 
weather  is  warmer  and  more  pleasant  as  we  get  into  the 
interior. 

HAXKOW ,  February  17.  191 2 — On  the  way  here  we 
experienced  what  is  of  common  occurrence  during  low  water. 
We  stranded  a  short  distance  above  Wong  Shi  Quang.  Two 
steamers  came  to  our  assistance  but  were  unable  to  pull  our 
vessel  oft',  so  after  two  days"  delay,  we  were  transferred  to  the 
steamer  "Ganking"  and  landed  at  Hankow  at  10  p.  m.,  but  on 
account  of  the  disorganized  state  of  affairs  had  to  remain  on 
board  all  night.  On  landing,  we  found  the  hotels  doing  business 
as  usual. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 57 

The  export  trade  has  been  resumed  on  a  small  scale  and 
produce  is  coming  in  by  water.  Complaint  is  made  that  the 
military  still  retain  possession  of  the  Peking-Hankow  Railway 
and  refuse  to  carry  freight.  Coal  is  selling  at  $20.00  a  ton, 
and  about  100,000  tons  of  sesimum  seed  is  stored  along  the 
railway  and  cannot  be  moved,  although  it  could  all  be  exported 
at  once  if  it  could  be  gotten  to  Hankow.  Many  other  products 
also  want  to  be  moved,  all  of  which  would  start  money  in 
circulation,  which  latter  is  very  much  wanted  after  the 
stagnation  and  destruction  during  the  war,  evidences  of  which 
are  to  be  seen  everywhere.  Even  the  streets  are  not  yet 
cleared  of  the  barricades.  Many  streets  have  brick  walls  built 
across  them  with  loop  holes  for  shooting ;  sand  bags  protecting 
machine  guns  are  still  in  place,  and  long  rows  of  brick  walls 
are  on  the  bund  with  small  holes  for  firing  through.  All 
this  is  in  the  foreign  concessions. 

Native  City — It  is  here  that  the  horrors  of  war  can  be 
seen  at  their  worst.  Evidence  of  the  terrible  shell  fire  in  the 
shape  of  broken  down  buildings.  I  walked  the  entire  length 
of  the  burned  city  which  is  just  a  mass  of  old  bricks.  The 
walls  mostly  fell  into  the  narrow  streets  so  the  only  way  to 
know  where  a  street  was,  is  by  a  ridge  of  debris.  Several 
streets  from  the  Han  river  have  been  cleaned  out  four  or  five 
feet  wide.  Those  are  about  five  or  six  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  surroundings.  Nothing  has  been  done  about  rebuilding. 
In  fact,  nothing  can  be  done  until  the  streets  are  cleared.  Now 
they  talk  of  remodeling  the  city,  making  wide  and  straight 
streets,  so  even  the  clearing  of  the  old  streets  has  been 
suspended  except  where  absolutely  necessary. 

Some  people  have  gone  back  to  their  lots  and  erected  huts 
of  bricks  covered  with  old  sheet  iron  or  matting.  Some  very 
small  shops  are  selling  the  necessities  of  life  but  a  wheelbarrow 
could  carry  the  largest  stock  I  saw.  On  the  edge  of  the 
British  concession,  which  was  not  burned,  the  streets  were 
terribly  congested  and  a  big  business  was  doing,  principally 
in  fish  and  rice,  although  many  hucksters  had  tables  on  which 
were  necessary  articles.  I  saw  that  coopers  were  hard  at  work 
making  tubs  and  pails,  showing  the  total  destruction  of  those 
articles.  I  also  noticed  that  the  water  carriers  had  new  pails. 
In  fact,  everything  is  new.     The  old  city  had  no  waterworks 


158  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

and  all  the  water  used  had  to  be  carried  from  the  river.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  city  of  Wuchang.  I  noticed  the  tinsmiths 
had  started  making  cooking  utensils.  On  the  outskirts  of  the 
burned  city  are  what  we  called  refugee  camps.  I  walked 
through  some  of  them.  The  shacks  are  either  old  sheet  iron 
or  matting,  the  latter  predominating;  none  have  any  floors, 
just  the  hard  ground.  They  are  cold  and  miserable  in  the 
extreme,  as  fuel  is  almost  unobtainable  at  any  price.  This 
adds  greatly  to  the  misery  of  the  people,  especially  during  this 
cold  winter  weather.  Unless  something  is  done  to  house  these 
people  and  provide  better  sanitation  before  the  hot  weather 
comes  on,  there  are  sure  to  be  epidemics  that  will  carry  off 
great  numbers,  but  the  great  difficulty  of  rebuilding  is  the  lack 
of  money.  The  more  one  looks  into  the  subject,  the  more 
this  is  apparent. 

After  I  had  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  I  spoke  to  several 
Europeans  and  found  they  were  all  of  the  same  opinion,  and 
the  proposition  of  a  large  loan  had  been  sent  to  England,  as 
they  say  that  without  outside  money,  rebuilding  on  a  large  scale 
is  impossible.  I  also  took  this  matter  up  with  the  president 
and  vice-president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  who  are 
really  the  only  civic  authorities,  and  on  them  devolves  the 
responsibility  of  devising  ways  and  means.  They,  along  with 
other  prominent  Chinese,  fully  realize  the  hopelessness  of  the 
task  without  foreign  money  and  they  are  preparing  a  list  of 
available  government  property  which  could  be  utilized  as 
security  for  a  loan,  which,  wdien  obtained,  they  would 
distribute  among  the  owners  of  land  and  take  mortgages  on 
their  city  lots.  A  proposition  is  also  spoken  of  to  bund  the 
entire  city  from  the  custom  house  along  the  Yangtse  and 
up  the  Han  as  far  as  the  city  goes.  This  would  be  a  great 
improvement  and  an  everlasting  benefit  to  the  city  by  providing 
a  boulevard  the  entire  length  of  the  water  front  and  giving  a 
breathing  space  for  the  citizens. 

BUSINESS  CONDITIONS  AT  HANKOW^   FEBRUARY    17,1912 

Lumber  Sales — Very  little  is  doing.  Our  lumber  yard 
has  just  opened  and  getting  ready  for  business,  after  a  rest 
of  four  months;  no  one  has  been  there  except  the  watchman 
who  lived  in  a  bomb-proof  hole  in  the  ground,  but  the  property 
is  as  intact  as  when  it  was  left. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I  59 

Finances — After  walking  all  over  the  burned  district,  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  great  factor  was  going  to  be 
money  to  rebuild.  I  later  spoke  to  many  Europeans  about  it 
and  they  all  were  of  the  same  opinion.  Several  of  them  were 
trying  to  induce  foreign  capital  to  come  in.  but  so  far  without 
success.  I  then  saw  the  leading  Chinese  headed  by  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  who  have  taken  charge,  and  they  all 
said  their  case  seemed  hopeless  without  outside  money.  I  do 
not  mean  that  no  building  will  be  done,  but  to  remodel  the 
city  and  build  it  according  to  modern  ideas  w'ith  wide  streets. 
In  fact,  to  build  a  modern  city  worthy  of  the  importance  of 
what  is  destined  to  be  the  great  commercial  city  of  China,  it 
must  be  done  to  a  great  extent  with  foreign  money.  No  doubt 
some  will  be  available,  but  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  much.  The 
Chamber  of  Commerce  with  the  consent  of  General  Lee,  has 
made  a  list  of  all  the  land  owned  by  the  government  in  the 
vicinity,  intending  to  offer  it  in  security  for  a  loan.  Then  as 
the  money  is  loaned  to  individuals  to  rebuild,  the  government 
lands  will  be  released.  They  are  working  hard  and  earnestly 
and  no  doubt  something  will  be  done  in  the  near  future.  Unlike 
San  Francisco,  they  have  no  insurance  money  with  which  to 
start,  as  the  fire  was  caused  by  war  and  the  insurance  com- 
panies are  not  responsible. 

Exports  have  been  resumed  and  the  movement  is  quite 
brisk  for  the  winter,  but  the  railroads  decline  to  carry  any 
freight.  If  freight  could  be  moved,  it  would  release  a  great 
amount  of  money  and  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  country.  As 
hostilities  are  over,  no  one  can  explain  why  this  condition 
exists.  As  it  is,  the  steamers  are  all  running  down  the  river 
full  of  cargo. 

Inzvard  cargo  is  practically  nil,  nothing  going  on  except 
some  food  stuffs  and  the  bare  necessities  of  life. 

General  conditions  for  exporting  are  good  and  will  bring 
in  a  quantity  of  money.  The  people  are  hopeful  for  the  future. 
Of  course  at  the  present  time  suffering  is  very  great.  First, 
the  w^ar  has  left  thousands  of  women  and  children  destitute; 
then  the  fire  burned  them  out  of  house  and  home.  Thousands, 
many  of  whom  had  been  well  off,  are  living  in  refugee  camps. 
I  visited  some  of  them — they  are  built  of  old  sheet  iron  or 
matting,  the  cold,    damp    ground    for    a  floor    and  without 


l6o  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

available  fuel  except  to  boil  rice,  and  it  now  being  cold  winter 
weather,  their  condition  is  deplorable.  They  are  very  short 
of  clothing  only  having  saved  what  they  had  on.  Thousands 
have  no  covering  at  night  except  rice  straw.  Fortunately 
those  who  are  able  to  work  can  obtain  employment,  as  there 
is  plenty  of  work  at  ordinary  wages. 

Building — In  the  concessions  several  large  buildings  are 
under  construction  and  I  saw  some  just  commencing.  I 
noticed  that  many  buildings  had  been  erected  since  my  last 
visit.  In  the  native  city  some  buildings  are  going  up,  but 
mostly  small,  one-story  houses  of  wood,  and  evidently  only 
temporary.  Very  few  streets  have  been  cleaned,  and  the  bricks 
and  debris  cover  them  from  four  to  five  feet  deep,  so  it  is  next 
to  impossible  to  get  around  the  city,  and  all  is  in  suspense 
on  account  of  a  proposal  to  re-survey  the  city  and  lay  it  out 
with  wide,  straight  streets.  Before,  the  streets  were  from  six 
to  ten  feet  wide  and  crooked.  They  also  propose  to  build  a 
seawall  or  bund  along  the  river  bank.  At  present  it  is  just 
a  mud  bank,  so  that  at  the  very  best,  I  can't  see  that  much 
building  will  be  commenced  for  at  least  three  months.  The 
conditions  remind  me  very  much  of  San  Francisco  after  the 
fire;  but  the  condition  of  the  people  is  much  worse.  On 
account  of  lack  of  finances,  the  prospect  of  rebuilding  is  also 
very  much  worse  than  it  was  in  San  Francisco;  but  the 
desolation  of  the  city  and  the  refugee  camps  all  remind  me  of 
what  San  Franciscans  came  through — intensified  many  times. 
The  burned  area  is  about  two  miles  along  the  river  by  from 
three-quarters  to  one  mile  wide,  but  the  walk  along  the  river 
seemed  to  me  to  be  the  longest  two  miles  I  ever  traveled. 

Future  Prospects — With  all  of  the  discouraging  appear- 
ances at  present,  I  did  not  see  anything  to  cause  me  to  change 
my  opinion  of  Hankow  being  a  great  commercial  center  in 
the  future;  and  it  may  be  that  the  calamities  through  which 
we  are  passing  will  all  be  for  the  best,  and  that  in  a  few  years 
Hankow  will  be  all  the  better  for  it. 

Yangtse  River,  March  i,  191 2 — The  water  has  been  high 
for  this  time  of  year,  but  is  falling  rapidly.  When  I  went  to 
Hankow,  a  vessel  drawing  eighteen  feet  of  water  could  go 
through,  but  now  about  twelve  feet  is  the  limit.     On  the  way 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  l6l 

up,  the  Steamer  on  which  I  was,  grounded,  and  remained  fast 
for  four  days;  all  the  cargo  had  to  be  lightered  from  her. 
On  the  way  coming  down  I  saw  two  other  vessels  hard  and 
fast.  The  sand,  or  rather,  mud  bars,  are  continually  shifting, 
and  where  there  is  plenty  of  water  this  year,  next  year  it 
may  be  dry.  With  proper  work  being  done  nearly  all  of  this 
could  be  averted  and  a  channel  made  to  allow  cargo  steamers 
of  twenty-four  feet  draft  to  go  to  Hankow  at  all  stages  of  the 
water.  No  doubt  in  time  reforestization  will  be  carried  on,  on 
a  large  scale,  in  Szchuen  and  Tibet.  This  would  equalize  the 
volume  of  water  so  as  not  to  have  the  extreme  rise  in  summer 
of  fifty  feet  and  keep  up  the  extreme  low  water  in  winter.  At 
extreme  low  water  vessels  of  ten  feet  draft  have  difficulty  in 
getting  to  Hankow.  Fortunately,  this  condition  lasts  but  a 
very  short  time  each  year. 

In  the  large  cities  along  the  river,  business  is  again 
commencing,  in  a  limited  way.  Although  all  the  regular 
steamers  are  running  full  of  freight  downwards,  the  up  river 
freight  is  very  light,  proving  that  the  Chinese  are  selling  and 
not  buying.  Confidence  in  the  new  government  must  be 
restored;  and  something  must  be  done  either  to  get  the  old 
native  banks  to  re-open  (as  they  are  practically  all  closed), 
or  new  banks  must  be  started,  as  commerce  cannot  be  carried 
on  without  banking  facilities. 

SHANGHAI — On  my  arrival  in  this  city  I  learned  that 
the  abdication  had  been  completed  and  that  Yuen  Shai  Kai 
had  definitely  arranged  yj'xih.  Sun  Yat  Sen  to  have  the  latter 
resign  in  favor  of  Yuen,  and  also  that  a  coalition  government 
would  be  formed  later.  Yuen  agreed  to  go  to  Nanking  to  be 
inaugurated.  This  is  an  excellent  move  as  it  will  tend  to  unite 
the  North  and  the  South.  All  of  these  moves  are  increasing 
the  confidence  of  the  people,  so  now  we  can  confidently  look 
forward  to  the  gradual  resumption  of  trade.  A  deputation 
went  from  here  to  invite  Yuen  to  come  to  Nanking,  which  he 
has  agreed  to  do.  This  party  was  headed  by  Tang  Shai  Yei 
and  C.  T.  Wong.  I  met  Tang  on  several  occasions  and  we 
became  well  acquainted.  He  was  educated  in  America  and 
is  one  of  the  coming  men  of  China.  He  has  been  Sun's 
confidential   man.     I   have  written   of   Tang  being  next   to 


1 62  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

Yuen,  but  I  consider  him  the  strongest  man  in  China.  He  is 
slated  for  the  Premiership.  Quiet,  perfectly  unassuming, 
serious,  dignified,  he  immediately  impresses  one  as  being  a 
strong  man  of  action,  and  I  believe  the  world  will  hear  much 
of  him  if  his  life  is  spared.  We  were  very  sorry  to  hear  of 
the  death  of  his  daughter  with  whom  we  were  well  acquainted. 
She  died  very  suddenly.  His  wife  is  also  dead,  so  he  has 
had  his  share  of  troubles. 

After  everything  was  settled,  the  soldiers  mutinied  in 
Peking,  their  pay  being  in  arrears.  Last  accounts  report  peace 
was  restored  and  that  a  loan  had  been  obtained,  so  they  will 
be  paid.  Many  troops  are  still  being  sent  north,  so  it  is 
evident  trouble  is  expected. 

Yuen  is  getting  well  prepared  and  no  doubt  will  be  able 
to  maintain  law  and  order,  but  as  in  all  revolutions,  peace  and 
quiet  cannot  be  restored  at  once.  We  must  expect  outbreaks 
here  and  there  throughout  the  Empire,  but  with  a  strong 
army  and  a  strong  man  at  the  head  of  affairs,  I  have  every 
confidence  in  the  future.  By  the  consolidation  of  the  two 
armies,  I  think  there  must  be  about  300.000  men  in  the  ranks, 
and  in  a  short  time  they  will  become  well  drilled  and  efficient. 

The  shipping  trade  of  Shanghai  has  not  been  so  quiet  in 
many  years.  The  harbor  looks  deserted  and  in  great  contrast 
to  the  extreme  activity  of  a  few  months  ago.  Business  in 
general  is  picking  up  slowly,  but  I  think  that  the  improvement 
will  be  permanent  and  within  nine  or  twelve  months  will  have 
returned  where  it  was.  I  think,  however,  that  we  must  look 
for  1 91 2  being  away  below  the  average. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  February,  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  called  a  meeting  of  the  Consolidated  Chambers  in 
the  large  audience  room  in  the  Palace  Hotel.  The  attendance 
was  large  and  composed  of  the  principal  merchants  of 
Shanghai  and  other  cities.  Considerable  enthusiasm  was  dis- 
played and  what  I  said  was  well  received ;  many  questions 
being  asked  about  the  proposed  visit,  and  also  about  the 
Exposition,  in  both  of  which  they  are  very  much  interested. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 63 


MEETING    OF    CONSOLIDATED    CHAMBERS    OF 

COMMERCE  AT  SHANGHAI,  AS  REPORTED 

BY  CHINESE  PRESS 

THE  local  Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce  received  the 
invitation  of  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of 
the  Pacific  Coast  of  America  to  the  ConsoHdated  Chambers  of 
Commerce  of  China  to  send  a  delegation  to  tour  the  United 
States  at  a  reception  tendered  to  Mr.  Robert  Dollar  yesterday 
afternoon.  It  was  practically  decided  to  accept  at  a  later  date 
than  originally  proposed.  The  invitation  was  drawn  up  at 
a  meeting  of  the  American  organization,  to  reciprocate  the 
magnificent  reception  accorded  the  delegates  from  the  United 
States  in  China  during  the  year  19 lo,  at  a  meeting  held  in 
San  Francisco  on  October  third  of  last  year  and  Mr.  Robert 
Dollar,  President  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange  of  San 
Francisco  and  Vice-President  of  the  San  Francisco  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  was  commissioned  to  convey  same  to  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce  in  China.  He  arrived  here  in 
November  in  the  midst  of  the  revolution,  as  he  explained  in 
his  address  at  the  reception  yesterday  afternoon,  in  view  of 
which  he  deferred  presenting  the  invitation  until  a  more 
opportune  time.  The  date  fixed  for  the  arrival  of  the  Chinese 
delegation  in  San  Francisco  was  March  twenty-ninth  of  this 
year. 

Mr.  Pay  Shen  Sung,  who  presided  at  the  function  yester- 
day, explained  in  introducing  Mr.  Dollar  as  the  first  speaker, 
that  the  reception  to  Mr.  Dollar  had  been  deferred  on  account 
of  the  disturbed  conditions.  Mr.  Dollar  then  presented  the 
invitation  and  further  urged  that  China  participate  in  the 
forty  million  dollar  Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  as  the  prin- 
cipal exhibitor,  at  San  Francisco  in  191 5. 

Mr.  Pay  responding  on  behalf  of  the  members  of  the  local 
Chamber  thanked  Mr.  Dollar  for  the  invitation  and  said  that 
a  delegation  would  go  to  America  at  a  later  date  to  be 
arranged.  Mr.  Sung  Man  Yung  spoke  in  a  semi-humorous 
vein,  pointing  out  that  now  the  Chinese  delegates  could  visit 
the  United  States  unincumbered  with  queues  and  long  Chinese 


164  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

gowns  and  welcome  their  brother  repubHcans  across  the  sea 
in  Prince  Alberts  and  high  hats  as  worn  by  the  American 
hosts. 

The  reception  was  held  in  the  Palace  Hotel,  beginning  at 
4  :oo  o'clock  yesterday  afternoon.  Among  those  present  were 
Messrs.  Tsu  Pan  San,  Director  of  Finance  of  Shanghai ; 
Cheng  Shen  Fu,  Chairman  of  the  Chinese  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce; Y.  C.  Tong,  Yuen  Hung  Kee,  Wu  Lu  Hsiang,  Yang 
Hsing  Tse,  Yih  Wei  Kyun,  Sung  Man  Yung  and  many  other 
prominent  Chinese  merchants. 

After  Mr.  Pay  had  explained  the  unavoidable  delay  in 
tendering  the  members'  sincere  welcome  to  their  honored 
guest,  the  bearer  of  the  official  invitation  from  America,  Mr. 
Dollar  arose  and  said : 

Speech  of  Robert  Dollar 
Mr.  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  Chamber: 

"The  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  of  America  have  commissioned  me  to  present  to  you 
an  invitation  to  visit  the  United  States  of  America,  which 
reads  as  follows : 

"  'To  the  Consolidated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China, 
the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

"  'At  a  meeting  held  to-day,  decided  unanimously  to 
extend  a  cordial  invitation  to  the  Consolidated  Chambers  of 
Commerce  of  China,  to  send  a  delegation  of  fifty  to  the  United 
States,  to  arrive  in  San  Francisco,  on  or  about  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  March,  1912. 

"  *It  affords  us  great  pleasure  to  notify  you  of  this  action, 
and  to  say  that  it  will  gratify  the  business  men  of  this  country 
to  be  able  to  extend  our  hospitality  also,  remembering  the 
kindness  and  courtesy  conferred  by  you  upon  our  delegation 
that  visited  China  in  191  o. 

"  'We  are  aware  that  much  good  will  come  from  the 
proposed  visit  of  your  representative  delegation,  for  China 
and  the  United  States  have  ties  of  friendship  and  great 
interests,  which  both  countries  desire  to  promote.  Our 
delegation  gained  much  information  in  China,  and  the 
knowledge  then  acquired  cannot  but  prove  beneficial  to  your 
country. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 65 

"  *We  assure  you  that  your  delegation  will  see  much  of 
the  United  States,  and  it  will  be  our  purpose  to  arrange  the 
itinerary  in  all  its  details,  so  that  each  and  all  of  our  industries 
shall  open  their  doors  freely  and  gladly.  Our  men  of  affairs 
and  business  will,  to  the  fullest  extent  of  their  ability,  strive 
to  make  the  time  you  spend  in  this  country  both  pleasant  and 
profitable. 

"  The  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the 
"  'Pacific  Coast. 

"  'H.  M.  Haller,  President, 

"  'C.  W.  Burks,  Secretary. 

"  *San  Francisco,  October  3,  1912.'  " 

"I  should  have  given  you  this  invitation  on  my  arrival 
here  last  November,  but  on  account  of  the  great  trouble  and 
trials  you  were  going  through,  I  deferred  until  peace  had 
been  restored.  Now  this  happy  result  has  been  accomplished, 
I  take  great  pleasure  in  publicly  congratulating  you  on  the 
result. 

"You  will  notice  that  the  time  stated  in  the  invitation  is 
too  short,  and  I  would  suggest,  if  you  see  your  way  clear  to 
accept,  that  the  date  of  your  visit  shall  be  fixed  by  mutual 
consent  later  on. 

"Before  leaving  San  Francisco,  arrangements  had  been 
made  for  a  special  train  of  sleeping  and  dining  cars  to  carry 
your  party  through  our  country  a  distance  of  about  12,000 
miles  by  rail,  and  to  visit  sixty-three  of  our  largest  cities; 
ninety  days  would  be  required  from  your  arrival  in  San 
Francisco  until  your  return  to  Seattle. 

"During  this  trip,  we  will  endeavor  to  show  you  our  large 
manufacturing  and  educational  establishments,  and  we  would 
suggest  that  your  party  be  made  up  of  representatives  of  all 
your  great  manufacturing,  agricultural  and  industrial  enter- 
prises. 

"Our  Commissioners  who  visited  you  sixteen  months  ago, 
were  greatly  benefited  by  what  they  saw,  and  delighted  with 
your  hospitality  and  we  hope  for  a  like  result  from  this  visit 
of  your  merchants  to  America. 


1 66  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

"But  the  great  object  that  we  have  in  view  is  not  only  an 
increase  in  our  commerce,  (we  are  sure  that  will  follow)  but 
an  increase  of  the  friendly  relations  between  us,  and  now  that 
we  can  call  you  our  Sister  Republic,  I  feel  that  we  will  be 
drawn  closer  than  ever  before,  and  I  wish  you  every  success 
in  this  great  undertaking. 

PACIFIC  EXPOSITION 

"Another  matter  I  wish  to  bring  to  your  notice,  and 
to  request  your  kind  consideration  of,  is  the  Panama-Pacific 
Exposition,  that  will  be  opened  in  San  Francisco  on  the  first 
of  January,  191 5.  The  people  of  our  country  intend  making 
this  the  greatest  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

"Over  $40,000,000  of  your  currency  has  been  provided, 
so  we  should  be  able  to  accomplish  our  ambitions. 

"One  fact  is  of  importance  to  you,  namely,  that  part  of  the 
grounds  will  be  on  the  shores  of  the  Golden  Gate,  where 
wharves  to  accommodate  the  largest  steamers  will  be  provided, 
so  that  your  exhibits  will  be  landed  in  the  grounds,  taken  direct 
to  the  buildings  by  a  local  railroad,  and  thereby  save  expense. 

"We  want  to  make  this  Exposition  distinctly  Oriental,  and 
we  are  depending  on  China  for  the  best  exhibit  ever  made  of 
Chinese  wares,  and  following  suggestions  made  in  this  room, 
when  our  Commission  was  leaving  you  a  year  ago,  that  a 
permanent  exhibit  be  maintained  in  San  Francisco.  Our 
Directors  are  anxious  that  this  should  be  done  at  a  convenient 
place  in  the  grounds,  and  requested  me  to  speak  particularly 
on  this  subject,  the  intention  being  also  to  have  an  American 
exhibit  in  Shanghai,  as  recommended  by  you. 

"On  account  of  the  revolution,  I  have  been  unable  to 
bring  these  matters  properly  before  your  government,  but 
when  the  new  government  gets  in  working  order,  I  would 
ask  your  Chairman  to  lay  these  matters  before  it. 

"I  close  by  bringing  you  a  message  of  peace  and  good 
wnll  from  America  to  China,  and  I  assure  you  that  our 
Chambers  of  Commerce  will  do  all  they  can  to  promote  these 
sentiments,  and  in  anything  that  can  be  done  to  increase 
friendly  relations,  trade  and  commerce  between  us,  I  will  do 
my  best." 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I 67 

On  a  railway  map  Mr.  Dollar  pointed  out  the  principal 
cities  in  America  to  be  visited  by  the  Chinese  trade  com- 
missioners. Among  the  cities  he  enumerated  were  San 
Francisco,  New  Orleans,  Washington,  D.  C,  Pittsburg,  Bal- 
timore, Philadelphia,  New  York,  Boston,  Cleveland,  Chicago, 
St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Seattle,  and  the 
States  of  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  Texas. 

Responding  to  Mr.  Dollar,  on  behalf  of  the  members  of 
the  Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Mr.  Pay  said  that  they 
were  deeply  grateful  for  the  kind  invitation  and  proffered 
hospitality  of  their  brother  citizens  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Pacific,  but  owing  to  the  pressure  of  time  for  the  visit,  which 
had  been  arranged  for  about  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  19 12, 
and  owing  to  the  general  condition  of  commerce  in  China, 
which  is  now  being  restored  to  its  normal  level,  consequent 
upon  the  recent  consolidation  of  the  republic,  they  would  not 
be  able  to  sail  for  America  at  the  appointed  time,  but  would 
go  later,  at  a  date  which  would  be  considered  by  the  members. 

MR.  SUNG  MANG  YUN  SAYS  VISIT  NOW  POSSIBLE 

Mr.  Sung  Mang  Yun  followed  Mr.  Pay.  He  said  that  he 
was  the  first  last  year  to  object  to  the  proposed  visit  owing 
to  many  difficulties  and  inconveniences.  "Last  year  we  were 
most  of  us  still  encumbered  with  the  queue,"  he  continued, 
"which  goes  along  with  the  Chinese  dress.  With  Chinese 
long  gowns  and  jackets  we  would  excite  the  not  altogether 
pleasant  curiosity  of  the  American  people.  Again  when  we 
observe  the  freedom  and  liberty  enjoyed  b}^  the  people  and 
reflect  upon  the  yoke  of  absolutism  upon  the  Chinese  subjects, 
the  comparison  and  the  realization  of  its  difference  would  be 
painful.  But  now  everything  has  been  changed.  Our  queues 
have  been  discarded,  which  fact  greatly  simplifies  our  dress. 
We  can  wear  a  frock  coat  and  a  topper  just  like  the  American 
citizens  do. 

"Besides  we  have  joined  the  fraternity  of  democratic 
governments.  Just  as  the  Americans,  we  are  republican  citi- 
zens. So  I  propose  that  we  should  visit  the  United  States  as 
soon  as  we  find  it  convenient  and  possible." 

Mr.  Yih  Wei  Kyun  then  requested  Mr.  Dollar  to  convey 
the  good  wishes  and  thanks  of  the  Chinese  to  the  Associated 


1 68  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast  of  the  United 
States  for  the  proffered  invitation. 

To  remarks  made  by  Mr,  Sung  and  Mr.  Yih  that  the 
American  repubhc  was  the  schoolmaster  and  elder  brother  of 
the  Chinese  republic,  Mr.  Dollar  replied,  humorously,  that 
China  was  America's  senior  inasmuch  as  China  had  a  history 
of  four  thousand  years  behind  her,  while  the  American  republic 
was  only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old.  Mr.  Yih 
retorted  that  the  old  history  did  not  count,  for  China  was 
resurrected  in  the  consolidated  republic  which  was  only  a  few 
days  old. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dollar  will  leave  Shanghai  for  Japan  next 
Thursday  by  the  steamer  "M.  S.  Dollar"  and  will  proceed 
from  there  to  the  United  States. 

Previous  to  his  departure  Mr.  Dollar  will  address  the 
International  Institute  at  5  :oo  o'clock  next  Wednesday  after- 
noon, taking  for  his  subject  "The  Commerce  of  China." 


On  February  twenty-eighth,  I  invited  the  prominent  mer- 
chants to  dinner  at  the  Palace  Hotel.  All  were  Chinese,  except 
Mr.  Harold  Dollar,  Mr.  Howe  and  myself.  We  had  a  very 
pleasant  evening.  There  were  no  set  speeches.  I  made  a  few 
remarks  and  Wan  Koh-san  replied. 

ROBERT   DOLLAR   ENTERTAINS   DISTINGUISHED 
CHINESE  AS  REPORTED  BY  TPIE  PRESS  , 

Twelve  prominent  Chinese  merchants  of  the  local  Chamber 
of  Commerce  were  entertained  by  Mr.  Robert  Dollar  at  a 
dinner  at  the  Palace  Hotel  February  28th.  Mr.  Dollar  was  the 
official  bearer  of  an  invitation  from  the  Associated  Chambers 
of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce of  China  to  visit  the  LTnited  States  of  America,  which 
he  delivered  last  Saturday. 

Besides  Mr.  J.  Harold  Dollar  and  Mr.  E.  K.  Howe, 
manager  of  the  Robert  Dollar  Co.,  the  honored  guests  were 
Messrs.  Chung  Zung-fu  and  Pey  Zung-sung,  President  and 
Vice-President  of  the  Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Chow 
Tsing  Tsung,  ex-President  of  the  Chamber,  Shao  Dzing-tao, 
of  Ta-foong  Piece  Goods  Co.,  Ling    Lu    Sung,    manager  of 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  1 69 

Republican  Bank.  Chung  Alung  Yew,  managing  director  of  the 
Shanghai-Nanking  Railway  (who  has  since  been  appointed 
Minister  to  the  United  States),  Yih  Wei-chuen,  committee  of 
the  Rice  Guild  and  the  leader  of  the  City  Volunteer  Corps, 
Yang  Sing-tse,  of  the  Silk  Guild,  Wong  Koh-san,  business 
manager  of  Hanyang  Iron  Works,  Chamg  Chi-Lan,  agent  in 
Shanghai  of  the  Hanyang  Iron  Works,  Chu  Li-chi,  Secretary 
of  the  Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  JMa  Tse-Ye. 

ADDRESS    OF    MR.    WONG    KOH-SAN 

At  9  o'clock,  after  the  close  of  an  elaborate  dinner,  Mr. 
Wong  Koh-san  arose  and  gave  a  neat  little  speech  in  English 
on  behalf  of  the  members  of  the  Chinese  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. He  tendered  expressions  of  sincere  appreciation  of 
the  hospitality  proffered  by  the  Associated  Chambers  of 
Commerce. 

Addressing  ]\Ir.  Dollar,  he  said:  "Under  other  circum- 
stances, tonight  would  furnish  a  capital  opportunity  for  us  to 
do  some  lobbying  with  you ;  we  would  coax  you  to  recommend 
our  new  republic  to  the  United  States  when  you  go  back.  We 
fully  appreciate  the  fact  that  your  sympathy  has  been  entirely 
with  us  in  our  work  and  in  our  aspirations.  We  all  wish  for 
a  closer  relationship  between  the  United  States  and  China. 
You  have,  we  are  aware,  been  a  powerful  factor  in  bringing 
about  a  greater  friendship  between  us. 

"Both  politically  and  commercially  we  are  in  mutual  need 
of  each  other  and  of  developments.  You  have  what  we  want 
and  we  have  what  you  want. 

"The  word  'Dollar'  has  been  a  household  word  in  China 
but  it  will  be  more  than  that  when  the  new  republican  govern- 
ment consummates  the  national  currency  reform." 

Before  Mr.  Wong  resumed  his  seat  he  proposed  a  toast 
to  Mr.  Dollar  which  brought  forth  a  most  hearty  response. 

HAS   TELEGRAPHED   PRESIDENT   TAFT 

Mr.  Dollar  addressed  his  guests  as  his  friends  and  in 
appropriate  terms,  replied  as  follows : 

"As  regards  the  lobbying  work  referred  to  by  Mr.  Wong, 
I  cannot  be  a  greater  advocate  of  the  republic  than  I  am,  even 
after  he  so  desires  me  tonisfht.    For  three  weeks  asfo  I  cabled 


I^O  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

to  President  Taft,  the  National  Congress,  and  the  various 
Chambers  of  Commerce  recommending  them  to  recognize  the 
repubhc.  Ah-eady  the  effect  has  influenced  the  American 
Embassy  at  Peking.  Friends,  I  congratulate  you  on  peace 
being  restored. 

"Before  I  left  home,  President  Taft  was  working  for  the 
Peace  Arbitration  and  attempting  to  negotiate  treaties  with 
France  and  England  for  the  furtherance  and  promotion  of 
peace  and  good  will  among  the  nations.  I  was  a  great  agitator 
for  that  cause  on  the  Pacific  Coast  for  I  sincerely  wish  for 
peace  and  comity  in  the  world,  and  I  hope  that  Japan  and 
China  will  co-operate  with  the  three  nations. 

"I  have  already  received  a  favorable  reply  from  Japan. 

"I  now  ask  you  to  drink  the  toast  for  the  long  life  and 
prosperity  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolution." 

SPEECH    OF   MR.    YIH    WEI-CHUEN    (iN    CHINESE) 

"Mr.  Dollar  has  been  a  sincere  exponent  and  worker  for 
the  peace  and  good  will  among  the  nations.  Inasmuch  as  the 
essence  of  God  is  love  and  peace,  and  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Dollar 
is  working  for  that  end,  he  is  a  god  of  humanity.  His  hope 
and  his  mission,  we  believe,  is  to  bring  about  a  consummation 
of  peace  between  China  and  Japan  and  among  other  nations. 
He  will  live  one  thousand  years,  for  Heaven  above  w^ill  be 
gladdened  to  see  him  continue  this  divine  mission,  and  the 
earth  beneath  will  worship  him  and  hope  that  he  will  live  that 
long  to  carry  out  this  humanitarian  service. 

"In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  tender  you  a  reception  tomorrow 
night  at  this  hotel  on  behalf  of  the  Chinese  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  Gentlemen,  I  ask  you  to  charge  your  glasses  for 
the  health  of  Mr.  Robert  Dollar." 

In  replying  to  Mr.  Yih  Wei-chuen,  Mr.  Dollar  accepted 
the  invitation  but  remarked  that  he  had  not  expected  any  more 
entertainments  for  he  was  leaving  China  soon,  and  that  he 
did  not  think  the  invitation  was  tendered  to  him  personally, 
but  that  he  would  take  it  as  being  given  to  the  nation  which 
he  represented. 


This  afternoon,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Reid,  I  gave  a  lecture 
at  the  International  Institute.     The  hall  was  full  of  Chinese, 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  I7I 

but  there  was  a  sprinkling  of  foreigners  and  some  Chinese 
ladies.     Dr.  Reid  introduced  me  in  a  very  flattering  address. 

After  the  meeting,  there  was  a  general  discussion  on 
political  China  by  Chinese  gentlemen  who  were  all  thoroughly 
posted,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  and  profitable  to  me  to  hear 
their  different  views  of  the  situation.  The  gist  of  it  all  was 
hopeful  with  the  belief  that  great  good  will  result  from  all 
the  tribulations  of  the  past  few  months.  Confidence  in  Yuen 
Shai  Kai  and  the  new  cabinet  seemed  to  be  the  keynote. 

This  ended  my  public  meetings,  and  on  se\'eral  occasions 
I  told  the  Chinese  that  I  felt  they  were  paying  too  much 
attention  to  me  and  what  I  was  doing  did  not  warrant  the 
courtesies  they  were  extending  to  me  and  that  I  wanted  them 
to  understand  and  feel  that  what  they  were  doing  was  on 
behalf  of  the  nation  I  had  the  honor  to  represent  and  I  could 
not  accept  it  for  myself,  but  for  the  United  States  of  America. 


ADDRESS     DELIVERED     AT     THE     INTERNATIONAL     INSTITUTE 

FEBRUARY  28,    I912,  ON   CHINESE  COMMERCE 

BY  ROBERT  DOLLAR 

Chinese  commerce,  for  a  nation  having  a  population  of 
400,000,000  is  insignificant.  Dr.  Reid  asked  me  to  talk  on 
Chinese  Commerce.  It  occurred  to  me  that  I  could  take  one 
specific  branch,  or  treat  the  subject  in  a  general  way.  I  chose 
the  latter. 

In  agriculture,  I  could  have  taken  up  the  soya  beau,  sesiiiiuiii 
seed,  cotton,  any  one  of  these  subjects  would  have  taken  up 
all  the  time  at  my  disposal ;  then  in  minerals  and  manufactures, 
it  is  even  more  diversified.  Your  mineral  wealth  is  practically 
unlimited,  but  your  mines  are  undeveloped,  in  fact,  you  have 
no  idea  of  the  extent  and  importance  of  your  minerals,  as 
practically  no  prospecting  worthy  of  the  name  has  been  done. 
In  a  general  way  it  is  conceded  by  experts  that  you  have  the 
largest  coal  fields  of  any  country  in  the  world ;  in  iron  ore, 
enough  is  known  also  to  predict  that  you  have  the  richest  and 
largest  deposits  in  the  world ;  copper  and  other  valuable 
minerals  are  known  to  exist  in  large  quantities.  Your  mineral 
exports  are  on  a  small  and  insignificant  scale;  you  do  produce 
nearly   enough    for  your   own   use.      In    1910  you   imported 


172  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

nearly  1,500,000  tons  of  coal,  for  which  you  paid  in  good 
Chinese  money  over  $10,000,000,  all  of  which  should  have 
been  expended  at  home.  You  bought  all  you  required  of  iron, 
steel  and  the  products  thereof,  except  the  small  amount 
produced  at  Han  Yang,  and  during  the  past  weeks,  we  read 
in  the  papers  of  the  probability  of  this  great  industry  passing 
out  of  Chinese  hands.  Gentlemen,  this  should  not  be.  I  would 
consider  it  a  national  calamity  if  either  these  mines  or  works, 
or  the  China  ^Merchants'  Steamship  Co.,  should  pass  out  of 
Chinese  ownership  or  management. 

You  have  untold  wealth  in  your  mineral  resources.  All 
you  have  to  do  is  to  extract  it  from  the  earth,  and  sell  it,  and 
that  of  itself  will  bring  prosperity,  and  furnish  employment 
to  millions  of  your  people.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  I 
firmly  believe  the  Yangtse  Valley  will  be  yet  the  greatest  steel 
producing  country  in  the  world.  I  base  my  opinion  on  history, 
which  shows  that  those  nations  which  have  risen  to  the  highest 
positions  in  the  world  of  commerce  had  coking  coal  and  iron 
ore  near  together,  and  also  convenient  to  where  steamships 
could  load. 

In  manufactures  you  have  made  a  start  sufficient  to  show 
vou  what  can  be  done.  In  the  cultivation  and  manufacturing 
of  cotton  alone,  you  should  also  employ  millions  of  your  people, 
and  not  only  produce  cloth  enough  to  clothe  your  400,000,000, 
but  with  your  soil  adapted  to  the  growing  of  this  commodity, 
and  with  the  myriads  of  your  hard-working  and  industrious 
people,  you  would  in  time  get  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 
exporters  of  manufactured  cotton  in  the  world. 

I  will  not  enlarge  on  other  commodities,  to  detract  your 
attention  from  this  main  issue,  but  would  just  call  your 
attention  to  what  could  be  done  in  the  manufacturing  of  silk, 
flour,  iron,  steel  and  machinery. 

Then  as  to  imports,  they  would  increase  in  the  ratio  of 
your  exports,  as  by  the  great  increase  of  industries  you  would 
raise  the  purchasing  power  of  your  people,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence, the  standard  of  living  would  increase  in  like 
proportion,  and  the  wants  of  your  people  would  increase  in 
articles,  which  you  would  require  to  buy  in  foreign  countries, 
and  as  stated,  thus  increase  your  imports.  The  necessity  for 
a  merchant  marine  of  your  own  would  immediately  be  felt, 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 73 

and  like  your  neighbor,  Japan,  you  would  immediately  take 
steps  to  carry  your  own  commerce. 

The  necessity  of  a  complete  system  of  railroads  throughout 
the  country  is  so  apparent  to  you  all  that  I  need  only  mention 
it. 

What  I  have  said  all  looks  very  plain  and  easy,  and  it 
would  be  a  pertinent  question  for  you  to  ask  yourselves,  why 
cannot  we  go  ahead  and  start  all  these  industries,  or  rather, 
what  obstacles  are  in  the  way?  The  first  is  lack  of  capital. 
You  must  borrow  money  to  develop  the  resources  of  your 
country.  Had  the  people  of  the  United  States  refused  to 
borrow  foreign  capital  fifty  years  ago,  that  country  would  not 
have  one-half  the  commerce  it  has  today.  I  mention  this,  as 
I  know  a  great  number  of  your  people  are  opposed  to  getting 
foreign  money,  but  with  proper  precautions,  it  is  quite  safe 
to  borrow  a  reasonable  amount,  especially  when  it  is  to  develop 
your  resources. 

Second,  you  require  a  good  banking  law  on  which  good 
solid  banks  can  be  built,  so  that  your  people's  money  would 
be  safe,  and  the  banks  be  able  to  stand  when  times  are  bad, 
as  well  as  when  they  are  good.  I  need  but  call  your  attention 
to  the  native  banks  throughout  China  today,  as  about  two- 
thirds  of  them  have  closed  their  doors. 

Third,  you  must  have  a  solid,  staple  currency,  preferably 
on  a  gold  basis.  Business  on  a  large  scale  cannot  be  carried 
on  as  at  present,  with  a  fluctuating  currency.  You  do  not 
know  how  much  the  value  of  your  money  has  changed  over- 
night, until  the  foreign  banks  tell  you.  Exchange  fluctuates 
so  much  that  it  makes  good  solid  business  impracticable. 

There  are  many  other  changes  required  in  your  laws,  but 
these,  no  doubt,  His  Excellency,  \Vu  Ting  Fang,  will  work 
out,  as  he  is  at  present  engaged  on  a  new  code  of  laws  for  you. 

In  conclusion.  I  wish  to  give  you  a  word  of  caution.  Your 
republican  government  is  just  being  organized;  it  will  take 
them  two  or  three  years  to  get  it  in  proper  working  order,  so 
do  not  be  impatient,  but  give  them  time.  I  have  every 
confidence  in  their  ability  to  give  you  laws  to  enable  you  to 
carry  out  all  the  matters  I  have  brought  to  your  attention, 
and  I  feel  that  the  laws  which  will  be  enacted,  will  enable 
you  to  become  one  of  the  great  nations  of  the  earth. 


1/4  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

At  the  banquet  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  gave  to 
Mrs.  Dollar  and  myself,  they  handed  me  the  following: 

To    the    Associated    Chambers    of    Commerce    of  the  Pacific 
Coast : 

The  United  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China  at  a  meeting 
held  on  February  24,  1912,  unanimously  decided  to  thank  the 
Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast  for 
the  courteous  and  generous  invitation  extended  to  them  to 
send  a  delegation  of  fifty  members  to  visit  the  cities  repre- 
sented by  the  Associated  Chambers.  The  United  Chambers, 
after  the  most  careful  consideration,  unanimously  decided  to 
accept  the  invitation,  but  regret  that  on  account  of  the  present 
situation  in  China  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  their  visit 
to  the  United  States  on  the  date  suggested  by  the  Associated 
Chambers  and,  therefore,  respectfully  ask  that  the  question  of 
the  date  be  held  over  for  the  present. 

It  affords  us  the  greatest  pleasure  to  convey  to  you  the 
acceptance  by  the  United  Chambers  of  your  very  highly 
appreciated  invitation  and  it  is  with  sincere  regret  that  we  ask 
you  to  let  the  matter  stand  for  the  present,  arising  out  of  the 
political  changes  of  the  past  few  months.  There  are  grave 
financial  and  commercial  questions  of  national  character  to 
be  considered  and  many  of  those  who  would  otherwise 
participate  in  the  visit  which  you  so  kindly  proposed,  will  be 
engaged  for  some  little  time  in  the  settlement  of  those  issues. 
Without  the  presence  of  those  gentlemen,  the  delegation 
would  not  be  thoroughly  representative  in  character  and  would 
be  unworthy  of  your  invitation  and  of  the  distinguished  men 
which  the  Associated  Chambers  sent  to  visit  our  country,  and 
we  assure  you  of  the  very  high  appreciation  of  the  fraternal 
invitation  of  your  Associated  Chambers  and  look  forward  with 
the  very  best  anticipations  of  a  visit  to  your  country  under 
your  kindly  auspices  at  a  not  remote  date. 

Chien  Shun  Fu,  President, 

Pei  Hsun  Sheng,  Vice-President, 

Chu  Li  Chi,  Secretary. 

The  report  of  this  banquet  appeared  in  the  Shanghai  papers 
February  twenty-ninth. 


CHU   LI  CHI 

The  Energetic  Secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  the  Commerce, 
Sanghai,  and  Secretary  of  Shanghai-Nanking  Railroad 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I  75 

At  this  meeting-  I  suggested  that  Mrs.  Dollar  and  I  say 
good-bye  to  them  all,  seeing  that  we  were  both  present  (she 
was  the  only  lady  invited),  but  they  would  not  hear  of  it  and 
said  they  must  see  us  off  in  real  Chinese  fashion  by  going  in 
a  body  to  the  wharf;  so  I  had  to  give  in  although  I  would 
have  preferred  to  slip  away  and  have  only  our  most  intimate 
friends  see  us  off.  However,  in  this  I  could  not  have  my 
way,  the  old  saying  applying  that,  "when  we  are  in  Rome 
we  must  do  as  the  Romans  do.'' 

PRESS  REPORTS  OF  FAREWELL  DINNER  GIVEN 
MR.  ROBERT  DOLLAR 

A  farewell  dinner  was  given  to  Captain  Dollar  by  the 
Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce,  at  which  a  number  of 
distinguished  business  men  were  present.  The  announcement 
that  the  invitation  of  the  Associated  Chambers,  conveyed 
through  Captain  Dollar,  had  been  accepted,  was  made  by  Mr. 
Ching  Zung-fu,  president  of  the  local  body. 

Besides  Mrs.  Robert  Dollar  and  Mr.  J.  Harold  Dollar, 
there  were  present  at  the  dinner :  Professor  E,  W.  Thwing, 
Dr.  Gilbert  Reid,  and  Messrs.  F.  W.  Haldey,  Wang  Ih  Ding, 
Ma  Tse  Ya,  Yih  Wei  Chuen,  Yang  Sing  Tse,  Yih  Ming  Tsai, 
Chu  Li  Chi,  Wong  Koh  Shan,  Chang  Chi  Lan,  Chow  Vee 
Ching,  Nie  Shih  Jew,  M.  Y.  Pey  Zung  Sung  and  Chow  Tsing 
Tsung. 

After  a  dinner  served  in  a  hall  of  the  Palace  Hotel 
decorated  with  four  big  "Five  colored"  flags  and  the  "Stars 
and  Stripes,"  Mr.  Ching  the  president,  addressed  Mr.  Dollar, 
through  Mr.  Chu  Li  Chi,  secretary  of  the  Chinese  Chamber 
of  Commerce.  Mr.  Chu  said  that  the  Chinese  merchants 
begged  to  tender  their  most  sincere  appreciation  of  the 
proffered  hospitality  of  the  American  merchants.  Then  he 
read  the  formal  reply  to  the  invitation  of  which  Mr.  Dollar 
was  the  official  bearer.    The  reply,  in  substance  was  as  follows: 

To  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
of  the  United  States  of  America: 
The  United  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China — 
At  a  meeting  held   on   February  24,    19 12,   unanimously 

decided  to  thank  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of 


176  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

the  Pacific  Coast  for  the  courteous  and  generous  invitation 
extended  to  them  to  send  a  delegation  of  fifty  members  to 
visit  the  cities  represented  by  the  Associated  Chambers.  The 
United  Chambers,  after  the  most  careful  consideration, 
unanimously  decided  to  accept  the  invitation  but  regretted 
that  on  account  of  the  present  situation  in  China  it  would  be 
impossible  to  pay  their  visit  to  the  United  States  on  the  date 
suggested  by  the  Associated  Chambers,  and  therefore,  respect- 
fully ask  that  the  question  of  the  date  may  be  held  over  for 
the  present. 

It  affords  us  the  greatest  pleasure  to  convey  to  you  the 
acceptance  by  the  United  Chambers  of  your  very  highly 
appreciated  invitation,  and  it  is  with  sincere  regret  that  we 
ask  you  to  let  the  matter  of  date  stand  over  for  the  present. 

Arising  out  of  the  political  changes  of  the  past  few  months 
there  are  grave  financial  and  commercial  questions  of  a 
national  character  to  be  considered,  and  many  of  those  who 
would  otherwise  participate  in  the  visit  which  you  have  so 
kindly  proposed  will  be  engaged  for  some  little  time  in  the 
settlement  of  these  issues.  Without  the  presence  of  these 
gentlemen  the  delegation  would  not  be  thoroughly  representa- 
tive in  character,  and  would  be  unworthy  of  your  invitation 
and  of  the  distinguished  delegation  which  the  Associated 
Chambers  sent  to  visit  our  country  in  September,  19 10. 

We  assure  you  of  our  very  high  appreciation  of  the 
fraternal  invitation  of  your  Associated  Chambers,  and  look 
forward  with  the  very  highest  anticipations  to  a  visit  to  your 
country,  under  your  kindly  auspices,  at  a  not  remote  date. 

The  United  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China. 

Chien  Shun  Fu,  President, 

Pei  Hsun  Sheng,  Vice-President, 

Chu  Li  Chi,  Secretary. 

This  was  followed  by  a  speech  in  Chinese  by  one  of  the 
most  popular  Chinese  orators,  Mr.  Yih  Wei  Chuen,  leader  of 
the  City  Volunteer  Corps  and  the  Rice  Guild. 

"Mr.  Dollar,"  he  began,  "allow  me  on  behalf  of  my  associ- 
ates and  co-workers  to  extend  to  you  our  heartiest  greetings 
and  sincere  good  wishes  for  your  future  welfare. 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I 77 

"All  of  US  are  aware  that  you  have  endeavored  to  foster 
closer  relationship  between  the  United  States  and  China,  whose 
commercial  interests  have  been  indissolubly  bound  together  for 
the  past  few  years. 

"We  deeply  appreciate  the  good  feeling  and  kind  sentiment 
expressed  in  the  invitation  by  our  American  friends  who  will 
thus  afford  us  a  capital  opportunity  to  study  your  industrial 
and  commercial  enterprises.  We  all  request  you  to  convey 
our  hearty  thanks  to  your  friends  for  their  kind  invitation 
and  also  avail  ourselves  of  this  opportunity  of  thanking  you 
personally  for  your  strenuous  efforts  made  on  our  behalf,  when 
three  weeks  ago  you  cabled  to  President  Taft  and  Congress, 
and  the  different  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States, 
recommending  them  to  recognize  the  Chinese  republic.  Your 
laudable  object  in  strengthening  the  friendly  ties  between  the 
two  sister  republican  nations  will  be  soon  realized. 

"We  regret  to  learn  of  your  immediate  departure  for  home, 
and  in  bidding  you  farewell  we  wish  you  and  Mrs.  Dollar 
bon  voyage  and  long  life  and  prosperity." 

Mr.  Dollar  responded  to  the  speech  and  the  toast  for  his 
health,  saying: 

"The  laws  of  neutrality  prevented  me  from  expressing 
myself  until  the  issue  of  your  political  struggle  was  achieved. 

"You  can  all  rest  assured  that  when  I  go  back  to  the 
States  you  will  have  one  strong,  solid  friend  of  China.  I  will 
take  great  pleasure  in  conveying  your  thanks  and  acceptance 
of  the  invitation  to  my  friends  at  home." 

SHANGHAI,  March  22,  191 2 — The  Chinese  insisted 
on  seeing  us  off  at  the  jetty.  The  "M.  S.  Dollar"  on  which  we 
were  going  to  Japan  was  anchored  two  miles  down  the  river 
and  the  Dock  Company  sent  a  tug  to  take  us  from  the  custom's 
jetty  to  the  ship  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  At  this  same 
time  and  place  the  tender  was  leaving  to  take  passengers  to  the 
"Tenyo  Maru"  for  Hong  Kong.  My  son  Harold  and  I  walked 
down,  while  our  wives  went  in  an  auto.  When  we  neared 
the  place,  there  was  such  a  large  crowd  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  we  got  to  the  bridge  going  on  to  the  pontoon.  After 
elbowing  our  way  we  found  this  bridge  guarded  by  police 
and  two  double  rows  of  soldiers  lined  up  all  the  way  to  the 


178  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

tug  and  tender.  We  said,  "Some  dignitary  is  going  on  the 
'Tenyo  Maru,'  so  turned  back  and  reached  the  other  entrance 
to  the  jetty,  where  we  met  the  secretary  and  president  and 
others  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  who  had  been  looking 
for  us.  They  had  found  Mrs.  Dollar  in  the  crowd  and  es- 
corted her  to  the  pontoon,  so  we  returned  to  the  place  where 
we  thought  some  dignitary  was  to  pass,  but  found  to  our 
great  surprise  and  astonishment  that  I  was  the  dignitary,  and 
was  escorted  with  great  honor  and  respect  through  the  lines 
of  soldiers.  They  all  took  off  their  caps  and  stood  at  attention. 
I  was  accompanied  by  the  president,  vice-president,  secretaiy, 
and  several  of  the  largest  merchants  and  bankers  of  the  city, 
all  dressed  in  bright  colored  silks.  It  made  a  very  attractive 
procession. 

On  the  jetty,  I  met  many  Chinese  and  European  friends. 
As  there  were  so  many  waiting  to  see  us  off  I  hurried  our 
departure  so  they  should  not  be  kept  waiting.  The  soldiers 
were  lined  up  in  front  of  the  jetty  and  we  again  passed  between 
the  double  row  of  soldiers  to  the  tug  on  which  we  were  going. 
When  the  tug  began  to  move,  they  all  cheered,  and  with  the 
waving  of  hats,  soldiers'  caps,  and  handkerchiefs,  we  started 
on  our  way.  At  this  time  it  occurred  to  me  that  we  had 
bought  a  large  new  republican  flag  and  that  it  had  not  been 
packed  away,  so  I  unrolled  it,  and  with  Mrs.  Dollar  holding 
one  end  and  I  the  other,  we  waved  it.  This  act  produced 
great  enthusiasm  on  shore,  especially  among  the  soldiers. 

Before  boarding  the  ship,  the  general  commanding  the 
troops  handed  me  a  large,  red  envelope.  I  glanced  in  it  and 
saw  a  long  document  in  Chinese  which  I  thought  to  get 
translated  later,  but  after  getting  settled  on  the  "M.  S.  Dollar," 
I  found  an  English  translation  of  it,  which  with  my  reply,  was 
as  follows: 

ADDRESS    AND    REPLY    ON    LEAVING    SHANGHAI 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dollar: 

During  your  short  stay  in  Shanghai,  you  have  gained  our 
friendship  and  esteem.  You  are  of  venerable  age  and  came 
from  the  other  side  of  the  Pacific.  You  love  us  as  though  we 
were  brothers.  You  wish  every  progress  to  our  commerce. 
We  cannot  refrain  ourselves    from    recollecting    your  words 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  lyg 

addressed  in  the  Palace  Hotel  "I  will  do  my  best  in  anything 
that  can  be  done  to  increase  friendly  relation,  trade  and  com- 
merce between  China  and  the  United  States  of  America."  It 
IS  impossible  to  express  our  gratitude  for  your  parental  anxiety 
for  our  new  republic.  We  deeply  regret  the  lateness  of  our 
acquaintance  and  the  haste  of  your  departure.  We  hope  God 
will  bestow  on  us  another  opportunity  of  having  the  good 
fortune  to  meet  again  on  the  jetty. 

On  your  arrival  in  America,  please  convey  our  thanks  to 
the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast, 
w^ho  commissioned  you  to  bring  to  us  the  invitation  to  visit 
your  States,  and  express  our  wishes  for  the  long  life  and 
prosperity  of  Mrs.  Dollar,  yourself,  and  your  President  and 
your  merchants.     Farewell. 

Chinese  Merchants  Volunteers'  Association. 

(Signed)  :     Li  Ping  Shu,  President. 

YiH  Wei  Chun,  Vice-President, 
Wang  Ih  Ting,  Vice-President, 
Sung  Man  Yun,  Vice-President, 
Chang  Le  Chun,  Vice-President, 
Tung  Sliu,  Secretary. 

Shanghai,  March  i,  1912. 

Karatsu,  Japan,  March  4,  191 2. 

To    the    President    and   Members    of    the    China    Merchants 
Volunteers'  Association : 

Gentlemen  :  When  you  handed  me  your  letter  on  the  jetty, 
in  the  hurry  and  excitement  I  did  not  notice  that  there  was  an 
English  translation,  or  I  should  have  read  it  and  replied  then. 

I  now  take  this  opp<3rtunity  of  expressing  our  thanks  and 
appreciation  of  the  great  honor  which  you  did  us  by  assembling 
such  a  large  force  of  the  Volunteers  at  the  jetty  to  see  us  off 
and  bid  us  farewell. 

I  cannot  find  words  to  express  the  thanks  due  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  your  merchants  and  your  association,  for  the 
great  courtesies  and  kind  consideration  that  we  have  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  Chinese  people,  and  I  feel  that  inasmuch 
as  I  am  not  worthy  of  such  great  honor,  that  I  must  attribute 


l8o  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

it  in  a  great  measure  to  your  friendship  to  my  country,  and 
I  accept  it  as  such. 

Mrs.  Dollar  joins  me  in  kind  regards  to  you  all,  and  we 
earnestly  pray  that  God  will  bless  and  prosper  the  new  republic, 
and  bring  peace  and  great  prosperity  to  your  country. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Robert  Dollar. 

It  took  hours  before  I  got  over  the  great  surprise,  and  it 
brought  very  forcibly  to  my  mind  God's  great  goodness  and 
kindness  to  us.  Instead  of  feeling  elation,  it  made  me  more 
sober  and  thoughtful,  as  it  showed  more  clearly  the  resjXDn- 
sibility  of  doing  what  is  right  and  just  to  all  men,  and  it  was 
only  with  that  sole  object  in  view  of  helping  the  new  republic 
that  brought  me  so  prominently  before  the  Chinese  people. 
The  question  of  self-honor  or  self-glorification  never  entered 
my  mind. 

KARATSU,  Island  of  Kyiisha,  Japan,  March  5,  191 2 — 
After  arriving  here  we  received  the  Chinese  papers  giving  an 
account  of  the  farewell  demonstration  at  Shanghai.  They 
state  that  no  commercial  man  had  ever  before  received  such 
a  demonstration.  An  excerpt  from  the  papers,  follows  here- 
with : 

CAPT.  DOLLAR  FLIES  FLAG  OF  REPUBLIC  AS  HE  SAILS 

March  2.  191 2 — Unfurling  a  great  ''rainbow  flag"  to  the 
breeze  as  the  "M.  S.  Dollar"  tender  left  the  customs  jetty  and 
shouting  "Salute  your  country's  flag"  to  the  hundreds  which 
had  gathered  to  bid  him  farewell,  Captain  Robert  Dollar  left 
Shanghai  for  San  Francisco  at  five  o'clock  yesterday  after- 
noon. His  cry  was  answered  by  a  tremendous  cheer  from 
several  companies  of  the  Chinese  Volunteer  Corps,  his  escort 
of  honor,  and  the  many  foreigners  on  the  wharf  added  whole 
hearted  godspeeds.  As  the  tender  shoved  into  the  stream, 
and  made  its  way  down  river.  Captain  Dollar  could  still  be 
seen  waving  the  flag  of  the  republic  until  the  little  craft  was 
lost  in  the  maze  of  river  traffic. 

The  farewell  ceremonies  attendant  on  the  departure  of  the 
venerable  financier,  were  such  as  are  seldom  accorded  men  in 


Y.    C.    TONG 

Managing  Director  of  Imperial  Telegraphs.     Educated  in  the 

United  States  and  one  of  the  brightest  Men  in  China 


CHUNG    ML'XG    YEW 
Managing  Director  Slianghai-Nanking  Railroad  and  Managing 
Director  China  Merchants  S.   S.   Co. — He  was  Educated  at 
Yale  and  was  Cockswain  of  the  Crew  in  one  of  the  Yale- 
Harvard  Races;  was  recently  appointed  Ambassador  to 
the    U.    S..   and   awaits   recognition    from    this   Gov- 
ernment   before    taking    tlie    Post 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  l8l 

private  life.  Long  before  his  arrival  on  the  jetty,  lines  of 
volunteer  soldiery  had  been  formed  along  the  waterfront, 
under  the  command  of  Yeh  Wai  Chun,  chief  of  the  local 
volunteers. 

Captain  Dollar  arrived  shortly  before  five  o'clock,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Y.  C.  Tong,  Mr.  Chung  Mun  Yew,  Mr.  Chu 
Pau  San,  Mr.  James  Thompson  of  the  Shanghai  Dock  and 
Engineering  Company,  Mr.  T.  C.  White  of  the  American 
Consulate,  Mrs.  White,  the  Princess  der  Ling,  Mrs.  J.  Harold 
Dollar,  Mrs.  Robert  Dollar  and  Mrs.  James  Thompson. 

He  was  saluted  by  the  military  lines  along  the  dock  as 
he  made  his  way  to  the  customs  float,  and  was  greeted  there 
by  Mr.  Chu  Li  Chi,  secretary  of  the  Chinese  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  at  the  head  of  a  delegation  of  many  of  the  leading 
Chinese  business  men  of  Shanghai. 

With  Captain  Dollar's  departure,  it  was  learned  that  the 
Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  officially  accepted  the 
invitation  of  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  to  visit  the  United  States. 

We  crossed  the  China  Sea  on  the  steamer  "M.  S.  Dollar" 
from  Shanghai  to  Karatsu.  encountering  a  strong  gale  and  a 
very  high  sea,  which  delayed  us,  taking  three  days  for  the 
trip.  There  is  a  good  harbor  at  this  place  but  small  vessels 
all  lay  at  anchor.  Good  dispatch  is  given  vessels.  The  only 
business  of  the  port  is  coal,  of  which  they  load  about  2,000 
tons  a  day.  The  great  coal  mines  are  only  from  ten  to  twenty 
miles  distant.  The  country  is  broken,  but  there  are  many 
fine  fertile  valleys  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  We  noticed 
a  great  many  orange  trees  in  full  bearing,  the  crop  being  ripe 
at  this  season  of  the  year.  Rice  and  other  vegetation  were 
well  advanced.  We  saw  several  stone  quarries,  where  they 
were  hewing  out  stones,  and  the  workmanship  seemed  to  be 
good.  I  noticed  that  there  was  a  good  deal  doing  in  the  way 
of  reforesting  the  hilly  and  waste  places,  which  is  a  very 
commendable  enterprise. 

We  w^ent  by  rail  from  Karatsu  to  Moji  and  were  pleased 
to  find  that  the  American  system  of  checking  baggage  had 
been  adopted  on  the  government  railroads  of  Japan,  which  is 
something   new.      When   we   got   within  fifty  miles  of  Moji, 


1 82  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

we  ran  into  other  coal  fields  where  great  activity  was  every- 
where in  evidence. 

The  Island  of  Kyusha  is  a  beehive  of  industry.  It  has  the 
famous  Wa  Kamatsu  Government  Iron  and  Steel  Plant,  and 
many  other  large  industries.  Moji  is  also  a  busy  place,  having 
large  cement  works,  etc.,  as  well  as  being  the  greatest  coal  port 
of  Japan. 

We  left  Karatsu  at  ii  :oo  a.  m.  and  arrived  in  Shiminoseki 
at  6:00  p.  m.  Messrs.  Samuel  and  Samuel  were  kind  enough 
to  have  their  launch  waiting  to  take  us  across  the  straits  from 
Moji  to  Shiminoseki.  We  stayed  at  the  comfortable  railroad 
hotel  and  next  day  reached  Kobe  by  rail,  at  1 1  :oo  p.  m.,  after 
a  long  all-day  ride,  but  we  had  never  seen  this  country  in 
daylight,  so  it  was  quite  interesting.  Nearly  the  entire  distance 
was  through  a  fine  farming  country.  Many  quaint  villages 
and  temples  were  seen,  giving  one  a  glimpse  of  old  Japan. 
Everywhere  thrift  and  industry  were  visible.  Excepting  China, 
I  do  not  know  of  another  country  that  would  support  so  many 
people  on  such  a  small  piece  of  land,  as  Japan. 

Kobe  and  especially  Osaka,  was  feeling  the  effects  of  the 
rebellion  very  much,  and  shipping  was  much  less  than  usual. 
The  foreign  part  of  the  city  looked  deserted. 

I  paid  a  visit  to  Sheng  Kung  Poa  at  the  village  of  Shioya. 
It  was  a  very  sad  meeting  and  I  would  have  gladly  escaped  it, 
but  courtesy  demanded  that  I  should  go.  The  first  words 
he  said,  were :  "What  a  terrible  change  has  come  over  China 
and  myself  since  I  saw  you  a  year  ago  in  Peking."  Poor 
man,  he  looked  loaded  down  with  the  sorrow  and  disgrace  of 
being  a  political  exile  from  his  native  land.  When  I  last  saw 
him,  he  was  proclaimed  as  China's  "Man  of  the  Hour,"  and 
was  virtually  ruler  of  the  Chinese  Empire.  I  tried  to  cheer 
him  up  and  get  his  mind  off  his  troubles,  but  I  came  away 
feeling  that  I  had  not  succeeded.  In  parting,  I  said  that  I 
hoped  to  meet  him  in  Shanghai  the  next  time  I  returned.  This 
pleased  him,  as  he  had  to  flee  for  his  life  from  Peking  and  if 
he  had  not  been  guarded  by  United  States  marines,  he  never 
would  have  left  China  alive.  This  is  a  good  example  of  the 
lack  of  stability  of  all  political  positions. 

Sheng  advocated  the  introduction  of  foreign  capital  into 
China;  the  Prince  Regent  (poor  weakling),  made  a  scapegoat 


SHENG   KUNG   POA 

President  of  the  Han  Yang  Iron  &  Steel  Works  Co. 

The  Man  Who  Held  the  Affairs  of  China  in  the  Hollow  of  His 

Hand  before  The  Revolution,  and  now  a  Refugee  in  Japan 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 83 

of  Sheng,  hoping  to  save  his  own  head.  Now  the  policy  of 
the  new  government  is  exactly  Sheng's  pohcy,  but  Sheng  and 
Yuen  Shi  Kai  are  deadly  enemies.  The  former  is  a  friend 
of  the  Japanese,  the  latter  is  not;  so  they  are  unreconciliable. 
What  a  sad  commentary  on  the  dependence  of  human  help. 
The  only  real  help  and  trust  is  in  God.  Well,  I  came  away 
from  the  interview  a  sadder,  but  I  hope,  a  wiser  man. 

TOKYO — The  object  of  my  visit  was  to  promote  the 
interests  of  the  Panama  International  Exposition  and,  in  a 
small  way,  to  help  the  cause  of  international  peace.  With 
everyone  I  met,  I  discussed  both  questions. 

I  first  called  on  our  Ambassador,  Mr.  Bryan;  and  later 
saw  Mr.  Kato,  the  able  Secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. He  immediately  set  to  work  making  appointments 
for  me  which  was  difficult,  as  Parliament  was  in  session. 
However,  I  saw  Baron  Shibasawa,  the  Grand  Old  Man  of 
Japan,  and  had  a  very  pleasant  and  satisfactory  talk  with  him. 
He  again  assured  me  that  he  would  do  his  very  best  to  get  us 
exhibits,  and  as  he  is  a  man  of  his  word,  that  means  a  great 
deal.  On  international  peace — he  is  the  strongest  advocate  in 
Japan. 

We  then  called  on  Baron  Sokotana,  who  was  the  Financial 
Minister  during  the  Japan-Russian  W^ar.  W^e  were  well 
acquainted  with  those  two  noblemen.  Mrs.  Dollar  accompanied 
me,  so  we  made  them  a  social  as  well  as  a  business  visit.  The 
Baron  is  much  interested  in  the  Exposition,  due  to  several 
interviews  had  with  him  last  fall.  He  is  also  Vice-President 
of  the  Peace  Society,  so  my  work  was  practically  done  before 
I  arrived,  as  he  strongly  favors  peace  as  well  as  helping  our 
Exposition.  While,  at  the  present  moment,  he  is  not  a  member 
of  the  government,  he,  like  Baron  Shibasawa,  is  a  very 
influential  man.  He  said  to  call  on  him  at  any  time  and  that 
his  services  were  at  our  disposal.  Before  I  left,  he  called  on 
us  and  again  reminded  me  to  be  sure  and  ask  him  to  assist  us 
if  everything  did  not  go  smoothly. 

Viscount  Uchida's  time  was  so  taken  up  with  Parliament 
that  he  could  not  meet  me  at  regular  office  hours,  but  made  an 
appointment  to  come  to  the  office  one  hour  earlier  than  his 
usual  time,  so  we  met  in  the  Foreign  Office  at  9  :oo  a.  m. 


184  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

I  had  a  long  talk  with  him.  He  complained  of  the  government's 
want  of  money  and  said  they  had  to  abandon  the  Tokyo  191 7 
Exposition  for  that  reason ;  but  when  I  showed  him  the  effects 
a  big  exhibit  would  have  in  increasing  the  friendly  relations 
between  the  two  countries,  he  at  last  said,  "I  can  see  that 
from  the  standpoint  of  international  peace,  we  must  make  a 
big  exhibit." 

I  then  saw  Baron  Ishii  who  is  Vice-Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  whom  I  have  known  for  some  time.  We  had  an 
official  talk,  then  a  friendly  and  confidential  chat.  Like 
Viscount  Uchida.  he  assured  me  that  they  were  anxious  to 
make  a  big  exhibit,  but  finances  stood  in  the  way.  However, 
he  thought  that  could  be  overcome,  especially  when  I  explained 
to  him  the  effect  we  hoped  that  would  result  in  the  way  of 
international  peace.  He  brought  up  the  question  as  to  how 
our  immigration  authorities  would  treat  the  Japanese,  who 
would  be  brought  in  to  erect  the  buildings  and  care  for  the 
exhibits.  He  also  complained  of  the  treatment  the  Japanese 
had  received  at  the  Seattle  Exposition,  where,  he  said,  they 
had  expended  $50,000.00  as  well  as  having  been  bonded  in 
the  sum  of  $30,000.00.  The  Baron  then  stated  that  in  talking 
with  many  merchants  since  I  last  saw  him,  they  all  asked  for 
information  on  those  questions,  and  he  thought  that  the 
Directors  of  the  Exposition  should  give  them  some  assurance 
as  to  what  their  policy  would  be.  He  also  suggested  the 
careful  selection  of  a  commissioner  who  would  use  discretion 
and  good  judgment. 

I  met  President  Nakano  at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
and  while  he  is  very  busy  and  has  his  time  fully  taken  up,  he 
cancelled  engagements  and  gave  me  a  half  a  day  of  his  time. 
He  is  strongly  in  favor  of  a  big  exhibit,  and  we  can  be  sure 
of  his  hearty  co-operation,  as  among  the  commercial  men  he 
has  great  influence. 

We  went  to  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  saw  the 
Minister,  Baron  Nakino,  also  Mr.  Pelukawa,  Vice-Minister, 
and  as  this  is  the  department  which  will  have  charge  of  the 
Exposition,  I  had  a  long  talk  with  them  and  went  over  the 
matter  fully.  Here,  again,  the  question  of  Labor  Unions  came 
to  the  fore.  I  did  what  I  could  to  reassure  them,  but  they  also 
thought  to  induce  their  people  to  exhibit  on  a  large  scale,  that 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  1 85 

a  statement  from  us  would  be  necessary  as  to  what  they  might 
expect.  In  fact,  they  are  all  afraid  of  San  Francisco.  I 
assured  them  we  had  an  honest  Mayor  who  would  give  every 
one  a  square  deal.  I  can  see  very  plainly  it  is  going  to  require 
considerable  tact  to  carry  this  business  through  smoothly. 

Mr.  Hirayama,  President  of  the  Japanese  Exposition 
Company  and  Vice-President  of  the  Japan  Foreign  Ex- 
positions, will  have  the  details  to  look  after  with  our  Com- 
missioner. All  the  conferences  were  very  satisfactory  except 
where  the  labor  union  subject  was  brought  up,  but  I  feel 
confident  that  by  using  good  judgment  all  can  be  smoothed 
over  and  that  we  can  get  the  best  exhibit  from  Japan  that  they 
have  ever  made.  I  had  given  so  much  time  to  this  business 
that  I  only  had  a  day  and  a  half  to  attend  to  my  own  business, 
and  while  I  saw  nearly  everyone  I  wanted  to  see,  still  I  could 
have  done  more.  Even  this  time  was  broken  into  by  Am- 
bassador Bryan  insisting  on  our  going  to  the  Embassy  the 
day  before  we  sailed,  to  attend  a  luncheon  which  he  was  giving 
to  five  men  and  two  ladies  who  were  en  route  to  Washington 
to  represent  the  Red  Cross  of  Japan  at  the  convention  to  be 
held  at  our  capital.  A  large  party  of  Japanese  and  American 
gentlemen  were  present.  The  delegates  are  Baron  Ozawa, 
Baroness  Nagasaki,  Countess  Sogasawara,  Major  Inowye, 
Mr.  M.  Togo,  Mr.  Y.  Yoshiyasu,  Mr.  Akiyama,  M.  P.  We 
had  a  very  pleasant  party  and  wished  them  good-bye,  but 
I  said  I  was  only  going  before  to  receive  them  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, as  they  do  not  sail  for  ten  days. 

Our  last  day  in  Yokohama  was  miserable,  as  it  rained  and 
snowed  alternately  all  day,  and  was  very  cold.  We  embarked 
on  the  steamer  "Mongolia"  on  March  13,  but  did  not  sail  until 
the  following  morning  on  account  of  the  weather,  as  they  were 
unable  to  work  cargo,  on  account  of  the  storm. 

iS>oth  Degree  of  Longitude,  March  20,  1912 — On  Board 
Steamer  "Mongolia" — After  leaving  Yokohama,  the  weather 
was  boisterous,  and  the  second  and  third  day  out  it  blew  half 
a  gale,  dead  ahead,  which  somewhat  reduced  the  speed  of  the 
steamer.  After  that,  it  gradually  subsided  until  there  was 
only  a  gentle  breeze  with  light  showers.  We  arrived  at 
Honolulu,  noon.  March  23,  and  sailed  the  following  morning. 


l86  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

The  twentieth  was  my  sixty-eighth  birthday.  I  received 
many  congratulations  from  our  fellow  passengers,  and  the 
ship  presented  me  with  a  very  large,  finely  decorated  cake  on 
which  the  dollar  mark  was  conspicuous.  It  being  the  day 
we  crossed  the  i8oth  Meridian,  I  had  two  birthdays,  as  we 
had  two  March  twentieths. 

There  were  a  very  agreeable,  pleasant  lot  of  passengers 
on  board,  with  several  prominent  men  amongst  them. 

Bishop  Bashford  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a 
very  fine  man,  gave  us  an  address  on  "The  Effects  of  the 
Revolution  in  China,"  from  which  I  learned  a  great  deal.  The 
Bishop's  diocese  includes  the  whole  of  China  and  he  travels 
all  over,  so  he  has  a  very  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
country  entirely  unbiased  and  perfectly  fair. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  March,  at  the  request  of  the 
passengers,  I  gave  an  address  on  the  probable  effects  of  the 
Panama  Canal  on  the  world's  commerce.  Practically  all  of 
the  passengers  were  present  and  seemed  to  be  very  much 
interested  in  the  subject. 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  ON  BOARD  THE  STEAMER 
"MONGOLIA,"  MARCH  21,  1912 

BY  Robert  Dollar 

THE    probable    INFLUENCE    OF    THE    PANAMA    CANAL    ON    THE 

world's  commerce 

THE  Canal  and  our  Merchant  Marine  are  so  closely  linked 
together  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  speak  of  the  latter 
first. 

In  1862  we  had  the  largest  and  by  far  the  best  lot  of  ships 
of  any  nation.  At  that  time  we  had  2,496,900  tons  engaged 
in  the  foreign  trade  alone.  According  to  our  latest  reports, 
we  have  much  less  than  500,000  tons  now  engaged  in  foreign 
commerce.  The  Commissioner  of  Navigation  states  in  his 
last  annual  report  that  the  entire  tonnage  registered  for 
foreign  trade  was  only  585,730  tons;  included  in  this  is  the 
Hawaiian  sugar  fleet  and  Yukon  river  steamers,  and  strange 
to  say,  there  are  over  1,800,000  tons  of  shipping  owned  by 
American  citizens,  but  by  our  unreasonable  laws,  they  are 
compelled  to  run  them  under  foreign  flags  and  register. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 8/ 

By  our  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  they  claim  that  all 
American  vessels  passing  through  the  Canal  must  pay  tolls. 
We  claim  this  never  was  the  intention,  as  foreign  nations  can 
have  no  interest  in  our  coastwise  trade,  as  no  foreign  ship 
can  carry  cargoes  from  one  American  port  to  another.  There- 
fore, the  passing  of  American  ships  through  the  Canal,  free 
of  dues,  which  are  wholly  engaged  in  coastwise  trade  between 
American  ports  does  not  either  interest  or  in  any  way  effect 
vessels  belonging  to  a  foreign  country.  It  is  quite  right, 
how^ever,  according  to  the  treaty  that  American  vessels 
engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  and  in  competition  with  foreign 
ships  should  all  pay  the  same  tolls.  Section  6  of  the  River  and 
Harbor  Bill  of  1884  distinctly  states  that  "No  United  States 
vessel  shall  pay  any  tolls  for  passing  through  any  canal  or 
lock  now  constructed*  or  that  may  hereafter  be  constructed." 
This  relates  more  particularly  to  coastwise  trade. 

Primarily,  the  Canal  was  constructed  for  national  defense 
and  for  interstate  commerce,  and  inasmuch  as  we  have  no 
vessels  to  use  in  the  foreign  trade,  it  follows  that  this  is  of 
secondary  importance.  As  far  as  the  American  nation  is 
concerned,  while  these  views  are  national,  they  are  narrow ; 
but  looking  at  it  from  the  broad  viewpoint  of  the  world's 
commerce  and  as  such,  as  a  world  wide  benefaction,  w^e  must 
treat  all  nations  fairly  and  liberally. 

As  to  taking  money  out  of  the  public  treasury  and  paying 
shipowmers  who  use  the  Canal  a  subsidy,  we  certainly  have 
that  right.  Vessels  passing  through  the  Suez  receive  a  similar 
subsidy  from  the  following  countries:  Russia,  Austria,  Italy. 
Sweden,  Japan,  and  other  nations  to  a  lesser  extent. 

As  to  the  influence  that  the  Canal  will  have  on  the  world's 
commerce — first,  domestic  or  coastwise  trade.  This  is  sure 
to  be  very  great,  as  a  big  trade  is  going  on  even  now,  handi- 
capped as  it  is  by  trans-shipment  and  railroad  haul  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  or  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec.  I  expect 
four  times  as  much  as  is  done  now  would  not  be  an  extravagant 
estimate. 

The  Commissioner  of  Navigation  complains,  and  justly, 
that  Americans,   (except  the  American  Hawaiian  Company), 

*I  might  call  your  attention  to  the  Sault  St.  Marie  Canal  that  is 
free  to  vessels  of  any  country. 


1 88  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

are  making  no  plans  to  go  into  the  ship  building  business, 
but  that  foreign  nations  are  making  great  preparations  to  start 
lines  of  steamers  from  Europe  to  the  west  coast  of  the  United 
States,  There  is  sure  to  be  a  big  immigration  from  Europe,  as 
the  rate  to  San  Francisco  will  not  be  much  more  for  immi- 
grants from  Europe  than  the  present  fare  to  New  York. 
Several  large  steamers  are  being  built  for  this  service,  but  when 
we  come  to  consider  what  trade  will  go  through  the  Canal 
other  than  to  and  from  the  United  States,  it  is  very  difficult  to 
predict.  The  rate  of  tolls  and  the  saving  of  distance  will  be 
the  controlling  factors.  Congress  should  have  removed  the 
uncertainty  of  what  they  will  charge  before  now.  That  they 
must  meet  the  competition  of  the  Suez  Canal  is  a  foregone 
conclusion.  They  have  been  preparing  for  it,  as  twice  during 
the  last  two  years  the  Suez  has  reduced  its  tolls;  which  are 
now  $1.30.  Then  the  shortest  distance  will  determine  to  a 
great  extent  the  route  steamers  will  take.  The  saving  of 
distance  from 

Miles 

Manila  to  New  York  over  the  Suez  Canal  is 417 

Hong  Kong  to  New  York  over  the  Suez  Canal  is 597 

From  the  Orient  to  Liverpool  the  distance  is  much  in  favor 
of  the  Suez. 

Miles 

Manila  to  Liverpool  is  shorter  by  Suez  by 5,01 1 

Hong  Kong  to  Liverpool  is  shorter  by  Suez  by 4.542 

Melbourne,  Australia,  to  London  via  Panama 12,845 

Melbourne,  Australia,  to  London  via  Suez 10,690 

In  favor  of  Suez 2,155 

Wellington,  New  Zealand,  to  London  via  Suez 12,143 

Wellington,  New  Zealand,  to  London  via  Panama.  .  .  .  10,052 

In  favor  of  Panama 2,091 

The  distance  by  either  canal  from  Sydney  would  be  about 
equal,  so  it  can  be  expected  if  the  tolls  are  the  same  to  America 
from  Hong  Kong  and  Manila,  now,  the  freight  would  move 
by  way  of  Panama,  but  as  the  passenger  steamers  have  all 
their  connections  and  ports  of  call  and  coaling  ports  via  Suez, 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I 89 

it  must  be  expected  that  they  will  continue  runing  via  Suez, 
especially  when  the  difference  is  so  slight.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  everything  from  the  Orient  for  Europe  would  still 
continue  to  go  by  way  of  Suez,  saving  from  4,000  to  5,000 
miles.  This  would  make  a  clear  division — the  commerce 
from  the  Orient  for  all  American  ports  would  go  by  Panama, 
and  all  the  freight  and  passenger  steamers  from  the  Orient 
for  Europe  would  continue  to  go  by  way  of  Suez.  So  it 
looks  to  me  as  though  the  American  continent  will  be  the 
greatest  beneficiary  of  this,  the  greatest  engineering  work  of 
the  world.  The  direct  benefit  the  United  States  will  derive 
from  it  will  be  very  great,  and  justly  so,  as  they  have  furnished 
all  the  money  to  complete  the  work. 

First — As  a  means  of  national  defense,  thereby  doubling 
the  capacity  of  our  navy. 

Second — It  will  bring  the  products  of  the  field,  orchard, 
and  forest  of  the  Pacific  Coast  within  easy  reach,  and  cheap 
freight  to  the  people  of  the  Eastern  States.  It  will  also  reduce 
the  cost  of  the  manufactured  articles  from  the  Eastern  States 
to  the  people  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  All  of  this  trade  exists  in 
a  small  way  at  present,  but  we  can  confidently  expect  it  to 
increase  very  fast. 

Third — The  great  increase  will  come  from  the  Orient : 
Japanese  trade  is  certain  to  increase;  the  Philippine  trade 
should  double  the  third  year  after  the  Canal  is  opened;  but 
the  greatest  increase  will  come  from  New  China  when  its 
400.000.000  of  people  get  going  as  they  expect  to  do.  The 
increase  and  growth  of  our  trade  with  that  country  will  be  as 
radical  as  the  throwing  off  of  the  Manchu  yoke  and  the 
establishing  of  a  republic. 

The  price  of  coal  and  other  stores  is  a  matter  of  importance, 
especially  that  of  coal  or  fuel  oil.  The  American  government 
proposes  to  retain  all  this  business  on  the  Canal  Zone,  viz : — 
selling  coal,  ship  chandlery,  general  merchandising,  laundrying, 
dry  docking,  etc.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  no  government 
can  do  business  as  cheaply  as  individuals,  especially  where 
there  is  keen  competition,  but  any  government,  corporation  or 
individual  which  has  a  complete  monopoly  is  bad,  and  it  seems 
inconsistent  that  our  government  should  set  up  a  monopoly 
at  Panama  while  they  are  busily  fighting  the  trusts  at  home. 


IQO  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

But  to  take  full  advantage  of  our  opportunity,  our 
merchants  must  go  after  the  trade  and  we  must  have  ships. 
What  a  sad  commentary  on  our  Congress  to  say  that  they 
built  a  canal  costing  four  hundred  million  dollars  and  by  their 
laws  prohibited  American  citizens  from  building  ships  to  use 
in  the  foreign  trade.  We  talk  of  awakening  China.  Now  we 
must  change  that,  so  as  to  try  and  awaken  Congress  to  the 
great  prospect  ahead  of  us. 


ADDRESS    DELIVERED   BY   ROBERT    DOLLAR   ON 

S.  S.  MONGOLIA.  THE  NIGHT  BEFORE 

ARRIVAL  AT  SAN  FRANCISCO 

By  Robert  Dollar 

the  conditions  affecting  commerce  on  the  philippine 

ISLANDS 

During  the  early  occupation  of  the  Islands  by  the 
Americans,  I  visited  them  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  if  business 
could  be  obtained  for  some  of  our  small  American  coasting 
vessels  that  had  gotten  too  small  for  the  trade  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  but  at  that  time  Mr.  Taft  arrived  and  announced  his 
policy  of  "The  Philippine  Islands  for  the  Filipinos  and  that 
Americans  were  not  wanted."  Right  here,  I  must  say  that  I 
believe  that  he  was  honest  in  his  conviction  that  this  would  be 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  natives.  Now,  every  one  can  see 
the  folly  and  failure  of  this  policy  which  was  completely 
reversed  by  recent  administrators  who  are  trying  to  induce 
men  of  energy  and  capital  to  come  to  the  Islands  and  develop 
their  latent  resources,  as  the  Filipinos  have  demonstrated 
their  inability  to  do  it  themselves,  except  in  a  very  small  and 
primitive  way. 

The  Islands  are  rich  in  possibilities,  principally  agriculture, 
and  in  sugar  alone.  Great  tracts  of  land,  now  producing 
nothing,  could  be  made  to  increase  the  wealth  of  the  country 
immensely.  Hemp,  tobacco  and  copra  could  be  produced  in 
much  larger  quantities.  In  lumber  alone,  enough  could  be 
done  to  bring  great  sums  of  money  into  the  country.  There 
are  only  four  or  five  companies  lumbering  in  an  up-to-date, 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I9I 

modern  manner,  and  the  largest  one  would  be  considered  a 
very  small  one  indeed  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Many  people  claim  that  the  cause  of  such  slow  progress 
being  made  is  the  want  of  capital.  As  far  as  my  observation 
went,  I  should  say  that  the  cause  is  not  sufficient  labor,  and 
what  there  is  of  it,  is  very  poor,  and  it  looks  like  a  hopeless 
task  to  develop  these  Islands  with  the  native  labor.  It  looks 
as  though  it  would  be  necessary  that  a  certain  number  of 
Chinese  should  be  admitted  for  a  limited  time,  or  until  the 
natives  can  be  taught  or  induced  to  work.  If  this  was  done, 
trade  and  commerce  would  increase  by  leaps  and  bounds  and 
the  various  products  and  industries  would  increase  beyond  the 
idea  of  the  most  sanguine.  Under  those  conditions,  capital 
would  come  to  the  Islands  in  sufficient  quantities  to  take  care 
of  any  increased  business. 

Unfortunately,  politics  cut  too  great  a  figure,  and  as  long 
as  our  Congressmen  have  to  define  the  policy,  and  are  utterly 
ignorant  of  the  conditions,  so  long  will  the  Islands  be  very 
much  retarded  by  their  laws. 

Independence — A  number  of  Filipino  politicians  are  con- 
stantly bringing  this  to  the  front,  but  for  many  years  to  come, 
they  will  be  utterly  unfit  to  govern  themselves,  as  the  day 
they  obtained  their  independence,  that  day  the  Moros  would 
start  a  revolution  and  a  disastrous  civil  war  would  be  the 
result.  They  have  as  much  self  government  now  as  is  safe. 
They  have  an  Assembly  and  the  Commissioners  have  the  veto 
power.  It  is  composed  of  four  Filipinos  and  five  Americans. 
The  natives  seem  to  be  intent  upon  getting  as  much  pay  as 
possible.  The  Speaker  receives  $16,000.00  a  year,  and  the 
individual  member  gets  $30.00  a  day. 

When  400  lives  were  lost  by  a  volcanic  eruption,  the  House 
voted  $35,000.00  on  condition  that  five  members  of  the  House 
should  get  $30.00  a  day  to  distribute  the  money,  notwithstand- 
ing there  was  a  Red  Cross  Society  whose  services  could  be 
secured  free  of  charge.  Rather  than  agree  to  turn  the  money 
over  to  the  Red  Cross  Society  for  distribution,  and  lose  their 
pay  for  distributing  the  funds,  the  $35,000.00  was  not  forth- 
coming and  the  sufiferers  were  left  to  the  charity  of  private 
individuals. 


192  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

The  revenue  has  risen  from  six  million  pesos  twelve  years 
ago,  to  thirty  millions,  last  year.  A  large  amount  of  this 
increase  has  gone  into  public  improvements,  such  as  roads, 
education,  harbor,  lighthouses,  and  in  many  other  ways,  all 
improving  the  condition  of  the  people.  The  administration 
of  Governor  Forbes  has  done  more  than  that  of  all  the  others 
put  together,  toward  increasing  the  commerce,  and  in  creating 
confidence  in  the  stability  and  future  of  the  Islands. 


ADDRESS  ON  PHILIPPINES 

BY  ROBERT  DOLLAR 

Education — Great  results  have  attended  the  efforts  of  the 
government  on  these  lines.  In  1892  there  were  5,260  children 
in  public  schools.  In  1911,  there  were  610,000  pupils,  8,300 
native  teachers  and  4,400  schools.  At  first  they  paid  no 
attention  to  teaching  the  boys  to  work.  The  failure  of  this 
plan  soon  became  apparent  and  industrial  education  was 
substituted.  It  is  not  considered  honorable  by  the  Filipinos 
to  work,  and  as  they  are  naturally  lazy,  it  is  very  difficult  to 
teach  them  the  necessity  of  it. 

Spanish  is  the  official  language  of  the  Islands.  No  native 
language  can  be  used,  as  there  are  eighteen  different  dialects, 
but  English  should  now  be  the  official  language  as  so  many 
students  have  learned  it. 

Public  Improvements — Along  these  lines,  the  government 
has  done  vyonders  in  the  way  of  building  roads,  harbors,  light- 
houses, telegraphs,  etc.  If  the  people  had  displayed  one-tenth 
of  the  energy  that  the  government  has,  the  Islands  would  be 
a  hive  of  industry. 

Capital — The  great  cry  is  for  money.  I  claim  if  they  had 
labor  and  the  government  continued  to  show  that  the  present 
liberal  and  advanced  policy  would  be  continued,  plenty  of 
money  could  be  obtained.  ' 

Products — Hemp  is  the  principal,  value  $16,000,000; 
copra,  $10,000,000;  sugar,  $8,000,000.  The  total  exports 
were  $37,000,000,  of  which  the  United  States  received  one- 
half.  To  show  how  these  could  be  increased  by  proper 
methods:  the  Island  of  Negros  has  about  as  much  land  in 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  I 93 

sugar  as  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  The  former  produces 
$7,500,000  and  the  latter  $550,000,000,  showing  what  can 
be  accomplished  by  modern  and  up-to-date  methods. 

Imports — Are  $25,000,000,  of  which  we  sell  seventy-five 
per  cent.     Ten  millions  of  the  total  is  cotton  goods. 

Commerce — Is  capable  of  indefinite  expansion  if  our  people 
were  sure  of  the  present  policy  being  continued. 

Transportation — This  appears  to  be  the  key  to  the  situation, 
not  only  in  the  Inter-island  trade,  but  in  the  communication 
between  America  and  the  Islands.  The  first  policy  of  the 
government  was  to  prevent  Americans  from  engaging  in  that 
trade.  In  this  they  completely  succeeded  as  there  has  not 
been  a  steamer  brought  from  America,  yet  nearly  all  are  old 
ships  brought  in  from  other  countries  and  given  the  American 
Consular  registration.  This,  however,  prohibits  them  from 
going  to  America.  There  are  not  enough  steamers  to  do  this 
local  business. 

In  the  trans-Pacific  trade  it  is  a  shame  that  our  passengers 
and  mails  should  be  peddled  through  the  Japanese  and  Chinese 
ports  and  finally  get  to  Manila,  taking  over  a  month ;  whereas, 
if  we  had  a  direct  line,  the  trip  could  be  done  in  sixteen  or 
seventeen  days.  If  the  government  would  give  all  its  business 
to  a  line  of  steamers,  this  could  be  accomplished  without 
costing  the  country  one  cent;  and  in  addition  the  government 
would  save  money. 

This  address  was  delivered  on  board  of  the  steamship 
"Mongolia,"  the  night  before  arriving  in  San  Francisco. 


194  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 


REPORT  OF  ROBERT  DOLLAR  AFTER  HIS  RETURN 
TO  SAN  FRANCISCO 

To    the   Associated   Chambers   of  Commerce   of   the   Pacific 
Coast : 

Gentlemen : 

Subject — Yonr  invitation  to  Chinese  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce to  send  representatives  to  visit  our  country. 

I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  before  I  arrived  in 
Shanghai  the  revolution  had  broken  out  and  there  was  such 
commotion  and  excitement  that  I  saw  it  was  useless  to 
formally  present  your  invitation.  However,  I  got  the  leading 
men  of  the  various  Chambers  together  and  privately  discussed 
the  subject,  and  it  was  decided  that  I  should  not  present  the 
invitation  until  a  more  opportune  time.  So  I  waited  until  the 
Emperor  had  abdicated,  when  I  invited  the  members  to  a 
banquet  at  the  Palace  Hotel  in  Shanghai,  which  was  well 
attended,  and  at  which  I  formally  presented  your  invitation. 

"To  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China: 

"The  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  Pacific 
Coast,  at  a  meeting  held  today  decided  unanimously  to  extend 
a  cordial  invitation  to  The  Consolidated  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce of  China,  to  send  a  delegation  of  fifty  to  the  United 
States,  to  arrive  in  San  Francisco  on  or  about  ]\Iarch  29,  1912. 

"It  affords  us  great  pleasure  to  notify  you  of  this  action, 
and  to  say  that  it  will  gratify  the  business  men  of  this  country 
to  be  able  to  extend  our  hospitality,  also  remembering  the 
kindness  and  courtesy  conferred  by  you  upon  our  delegation 
that  visited  China  in  1910. 

"We  are  aware  that  much  good  will  come  from  the  pro- 
posed visit  of  your  representative  delegation,  for  China  and  the 
United  States  have  ties  of  friendship  and  great  interests  which 
both  countries  desire  to  promote.  Our  delegation  gained 
much  information  in  China  and  the  knowledge  then  acquired 
cannot  but  prove  beneficial  to  your  country. 

"We  assure  you  that  your  delegation  will  see  much  of  the 
United  States,  and  it  will  be  our  purpose  to  arrange  the 
itinerary  in  all  its  details,  so  that  each  and  all  of  our  industries 


WANG  SHENG  PING 

President   Tientsin  Cliamber  of  Commerce  and  Owner  of 

large  Coal   Mine  Interests — One  of  the  Most 

Progressive  Men  in  China 


ROBERT    DOLLAR  I95 

shall  open  their  doors  freely  and  gladly.  Our  men  of  affairs 
and  business  will,  to  the  fullest  extent  of  their  ability,  strive  to 
make  the  time  you  spend  in  this  country  both  pleasant  and 
profitable. 

"The  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the 
"Pacific  Coast. 

"H.  M.  Haller,  President 
"C.  W.  Burks,  Secretary. 

"San  Francisco,  October  3,  191 1." 

They  said  they  would  accept  it  in  a  formal  manner  the  next 
day,  which  they  did  in  the  following  words : 

"To  the  Associated    Chambers    of  Commerce    of  the  Pacific 

Coast  of  the  United  States  of  America: 
"The  United  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China — 

"At  a  meeting  held  on  24th  of  February,  191 2,  unani- 
mously decided  to  thank  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce of  the  Pacific  Coast  for  the  courtesies  and  generous 
invitation  extended  to  them  to  send  a  delegation  of  fifty  mem- 
bers to  visit  the  cities  represented  by  the  Associated  Chambers. 
The  United  Chambers,  after  the  most  careful  consideration, 
unanimously  decided  to  accept  the  invitation,  but  regretted 
that  on  account  of  the  present  situation  in  China  it  would 
be  impossible  to  pay  their  visit  to  the  United  States  on  the 
date  suggested  by  the  Associated  Chambers,  and  therefore, 
respectfully  ask  that  the  question  of  the  date  may  be  held  over 
for  the  present. 

"It  affords  us  the  greatest  pleasure  to  convey  to  you  the 
acceptance  by  the  United  Chambers  of  your  very  highly 
appreciated  invitation,  and  it  is  with  sincere  regret  that  we 
ask  you  to  let  the  matter  of  date  stand  for  the  present. 

"Arising  out  of  the  political  changes  of  the  past  few 
months  there  are  grave  financial  and  commercial  questions 
of  a  national  character  to  be  considered  and  many  of  those 
who  would  otherwise  participate  in  the  visit  which  you  have 
so  kindly  proposed  will  be  engaged  for  some  little  time  in  the 
settlement  of  these  issues.  Without  the  presence  of  these 
gentlemen  the  delegation  would  not  be  thoroughly  representa- 


196  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

tive  in  character,  and  would  be  unworthy  of  your  invitation 
and  of  the  distinguished  delegation  which  the  Associated 
Chambers  sent  to  visit  our  country  in  September,  1910. 

"We  assure  you  of  our    very    high    appreciation  of  the 
fraternal  invitation  of  your  Associated  Chambers,  and  look 
forward  with  the  very  best  anticipations  to  a  visit  to  your 
country,  under  your  kindly  auspices,  at  a  not  remote  date. 
"The  United  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China. 
"Chien  Shun  Fu,  President, 
"Pei  Shun  Sheng,  Vice-President, 
"Chu  Li  Chi,  Secretary." 

All  the  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  were  very 
enthusiastic  and  appreciative.  I  had  a  map  of  the  United 
States  and  showed  them  about  the  route  they  would  take  and 
the  cities  they  would  visit,  wdiich  convinced  them  that  we  were 
not  doing  things  by  halves.  At  this  meeting  I  requested 
them  to  say  good-bye,  but  they  said  they  must  see  me  off  at 
the  wharf  the  next  day.  At  this  farewell  I  was  destined  to 
get  the  greatest  surprise  of  my  life,  as  when  I  arrived  the 
streets  were  full  of  people  and  a  regiment  of  soldiers  were 
lined  up  along  with  the  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  many  of  the  principal  merchants  of  the  city. 

The  General  in  command  presented  an  address  and  on 
behalf  of  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  China  requested  me 
to  convey  to  you  their  great  appreciation  for  the  invitation 
and  especially  for  the  sympathy  of  our  nation  in  their  efforts 
to  get  a  republican  government  firmly  established.  And 
further,  to  show  you  the  appreciation  with  which  your  invita- 
tion was  received,  at  Tientsin  the  large  hall  was  filled  to 
overflowing  and  as  a  mark  of  respect,  the  entire  audience 
remained  standing  all  the  time  I  was  speaking.  A  similar 
reception  was  received  at  Hankow,  Hong  Kong  and  Canton. 
I  told  them  at  all  those  meetings  that  I  could  not  accept  the 
great  receptions  and  courtesies  as  being  for  myself,  but  that 
I  would  accept  them  as  being  on  behalf  of  the  nation  that  I 
had  the  honor  to  represent.  No  nation  could  be  more  friendly 
to  us  than  China  is  at  the  present  time  and  I  take  this  oppor- 
tunity of  urging  our  merchants  to  take  advantage  of  the 
golden  opportunity  presented  to  us  by  New  China.     I  use 


ROBERT   DOLLAR 


197 


the  name  advisedly,  as  in  a  very  few  years  we  will  assuredly 
have  a  new  China  that  will  surprise  the  world. 

I  consider  the  republic  to  be  firmly  established  and  at  the 
head  of  affairs  are  the  very  best  and  most  progressive  men  of 
the  nation.  They  are  rapidly  bringing  order  of  chaos.  But 
we  must  remember  that  the  establishment  of  a  government 
for  nearly  one-quarter  of  the  human  race  cannot  be  brought 
about  in  a  day.  In  fact,  I  give  them  two  years  or  more  to  do 
it. 

To  appreciate  and  understand  the  gigantic  task  they  have 
undertaken  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  they  are  starting 
entirely  anew.  All  old  customs  and  ways  of  doing  things 
have  been  abolished.  They  even  went  so  far  as  to  attempt  to 
remove  the  capital  and  build  a  brand  new  one  at  Nanking. 
In  view  of  these  facts,  I  hope  I  have  made  it  plain  to  you  that 
they  require  our  sympathy  and  assistance  in  this  their  hour  of 
need,  which  if  given,  will  never  be  forgotten.  I  would  also 
call  your  attention  to  the  men  who  are  building  up  this  infant 
republic.  Nearly  all  of  them  are  American  college  graduates 
who  thoroughly  understand  and  are  in  full  sympathy  with  our 
customs  and  government  after  which  they  are  patterning  their 
new  republic.  The  life  of  Washington  has  been  published  in 
Chinese  and  sold  as  fast  as  it  comes  from  the  press.  I  met 
many  old  men  who  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English  but 
who  were  quite  familiar  with  the  life  of  Washington  and 
what  he  did  to  establish  our  republic,  a  duplicate  of  which  they 
are  determined  to  get  for  China. 

In  view  of  this,  I  would  strongly  urge  every  one  of  you 
to  endeavor  to  induce  our  government  to  take  the  initiative 
in  recognizing-  the  new  republic,  and  not  only  that,  but  to  give 
them  all  the  moral  support  and  assistance  in  your  power,  to 
this,  the  oldest  and  newest  of  the  nations. 

Most  respectfully  submitted. 

Robert  Dollar. 


198  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

ADDRESS  DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  MEN'S  CLUB, 
SAN  RAFAEL,  CALIFORNLA.,  APRIL  12.   1912, 

BY  Robert  Dollar 

CHINA   IN    revolution    AND   A    WORD    FOR   THE    PHILIPPINES 

A  GREAT  deal  of  lack  of  information  exists  in  reference 
to  China.  People  who  are  well  informed  otherwise,  are 
ignorant  of  conditions  and  even  of  the  geography  of  China.  A 
few  years  ago  in  addressing  a  meeting  in  Seattle,  I  told  of  an 
occurrence  which  had  happened  at  Hankow.  I  was  an  invited 
guest  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Hankow,  and  in  the 
course  of  an  address  I  recommended  strongly  that  a  deputation 
should  be  sent  to  Seattle  to  visit  the  Yukon  Fair.  After  the 
meeting  was  over,  a  gentlemen  who  was  president  of  the 
Taching  Bank  asked  me  where  Seattle  was.  This  caused  the 
Seattle  gentlemen  to  laugh,  and  I  said  to  them,  the  president 
of  this  bank  came  from  a  city  directly  across  the  river  from 
Hankow  and  I  asked  the  gentlemen  in  the  audience  who  knew 
the  name  of  that  city  to  hold  up  their  hands,  that  it  was  a  city 
of  750,000  people,  capital  of  Hupeh  Province  and  was  a 
walled  city  of  great  importance.  There  was  not  a  person  in  the 
audience  that  knew  the  name  of  the  city.  I  told  them  I  did 
this  on  purpose  to  call  their  attention  to  the  importance  of 
getting  better  acquainted  with  China.  The  city  has  become 
famous  as  being  the  center  from  which  the  revolution  started : 
namely,  Wuchang. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  tremendous  impulse  that  the 
revolution  gained,  I  visited  Hangchau  a  month  after  it  started, 
and  while  there  I  learned  from  the  General  in  command  of  the 
revolutionary  troops  that  he  had  three  months'  stores  in  ware- 
houses that  had  been  free-will  offerings  from  the  farmers  and 
people  in  the  country,  which  they  called  "thank  offerings." 
The  same  conditions  prevail  throughout  China,  from  the 
extreme  south  to  the  Yangtse  river. 

Canton  was  especially  active  and  sent  a  great  many  soldiers 
to  the  front.  I  do  not  know  the  number,  but  I  noticed  steamer 
after  steamer  going  to  the  north  with  full  loads  of  soldiers 
from  Canton. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  I 99 

At  Shanghai  I  happened  to  be  in  the  city  when  it  was 
captured.  I  was  awakened  in  the  morning  by  the  discharge  of 
cannon  about  half  a  mile  off.  The  capture  was  accomplished 
during  the  day,  and  the  arsenal,  stores  and  some  warships  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  revolutionists.  Four  hundred  American 
marines  were  landed  and  marched  through  the  city,  but  it 
was  not  necessary,  as  no  violence  whatever  was  offered  to  any 
Europeans. 

A  short  time  after,  the  members  of  the  revolutionary 
government  gave  a  reception  in  the  temple  called  ''The  Queen 
of  Heaven"  and  received  the  leading  merchants  of  Shanghai. 
T  had  never  seen  such  a  large  crowd  in  all  my  experience.  It 
blocked  the  streets  in  all  directions  from  this  temple.  In  fact, 
it  was  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  we  could  get 
through  the  crowd,  to  get  in.  There,  we  met  Sun  Yat  Sen, 
the  President,  and  the  different  members  of  his  cabinet. 

The  capital  was  opened  in  Nanking.  This  was  the  old 
capital  many  years  ago.  Nanking  is  a  very  large  city,  the 
wall  around  it  being  about  twenty-five  miles. 

I  again  visited  the  cabinet  there  in  the  Viceroy  yamen, 
which  was  used  as  a  government  house.  Since  leaving  there, 
however,  the  government  has  been  moved  to  Peking  in  consoli- 
dation with  Yuen  Shai  Kai's  party.  In  meeting  the  members 
of  the  cabinet,  I  was  very  much  impressed  with  this  fact — that 
out  of  eight  members,  six  of  them  had  received  American 
education;  and  therefore  had  imbibed  American  ideas,  so  that 
the  government  was  really  more  American  than  Chinese;  and 
also  by  their  earnest,  sober  and  sincere  manners. 

I  visited  Hankow  immediately  after  hostilities  had  ended, 
but  evidence  of  the  trouble  was  plainly  to  be  seen  on  all  sides. 
On  the  corners  of  the  streets  many  rapid  firing  guns  were  still 
in  place  surrounded  by  miniature  fortresses  of  sand  bags. 

In  Hanyang,  where  the  great  struggle  took  place,  I  was 
much  interested  on  account  of  the  Hanyang  Iron  Works  being 
there,  whence  we  get  all  our  pig  iron.  A  high  hill  arises  back 
of  the  works  and  the  arsenal.  This  was  strongly  fortified  by 
the  revolutionists  and  it  was  a  very  commanding  position. 
Evidence  of  the  work  of  the  shells  was  to  be  seen  in  all 
directions,  many  houses  having  been  struck  by  stray  shots  in 
the   foreign   concessions,   but  the  lives  and  property  of  the 


200  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

foreigners  were  respected  in  a  manner  never  before  shown 
during  a  revolution.  The  Imperiahsts  found  it  necessary  to 
burn  down  the  old  Chinese  city,  by  which  500,000  people  were 
rendered  homeless.  I  walked  all  over  the  ruins,  which  reminded 
me  very  forcibly  of  the  conditions  in  San  Francisco 
immediately  after  the  fire.  The  half  a  million  people  were 
also  living  in  shacks  and  tents  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city. 

The  hospitals  were  incapable  of  accommodating  all  the 
wounded,  and  the  Red  Cross  took  two  of  the  largest  buildings 
in  the  city  to  accommodate  the  wounded.  The  Mother 
Superior  of  a  nunnery  moved  all  the  inmates  and  gave  it  over 
for  the  use  of  the  wounded,  and  told  me  that  one  afternoon 
over  four  hundred  were  carried  in  there.  The  bravery  of  the 
soldiers  has  never  been  exceeded  in  any  war.  In  fact,  they 
went  to  the  extremes  of  foolhardiness.  The  number  of  killed 
was  very  great.  No  count  can  be  obtained,  but  it  was  between 
fifteen  thousand  and  twenty  thousand. 

Admiral  Sah's  navy  revolted  and  he  had  to  give  up  all 
his  ships  which  were  in  the  Yangtse  river.  He  refused, 
however,  to  join  the  revolution  and  left  his  command.  He 
has  since  been  appointed  by  the  republicans  as  Minister  of 
the  Navy.  He  is  a  fine  man  and  they  appreciate  his  honorable 
conduct  by  appointing  him  to  this  position. 

General  Li  is  also  a  very  fine  man,  educated  in  one  of  our 
universities  and  a  power  for  good  in  all  of  the  events  around 
Hankow.  He  has  now  been  appointed  Vice-President  of  the 
new  republic,  an  honor  which  he  well  deserves. 

At  Peking,  where  I  went  to  interview  our  Ambassador, 
I  arrived  at  an  inopportune  time,  as  a  bomb  had  been  thrown 
at  Yuen  Shai  Kai  a  few  days  before  and  the  city  was  an  armed 
camp, 

I  was  pleased  to  learn  that  America's  diplomacy  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  list  among  the  foreign  Embassy s  and  our 
Ambassador  and  the  British  Ambassador  were  working  in 
close  concert  and  had  a  complete  understanding,  wdiich  was 
doing  a  great  deal  to  steady  affairs  there. 

I  visited  the  Wai  Wu  Pu  or  Foreign  Office  while  there, 
which  was  really  at  the  time  a  fortification,  as  Yuen  Shai 
Kai  had  made  it  his  residence  and  no  foreigner  was  allowed 
in  except  under  escort   from  the   Embassy.     Mr.  Williams, 


ROBERT  DOLLAR  20I 

the  Secretary,  accompanied  me.  I  had  a  very  pleasant  inter- 
view with  the  Foreign  Minister,  whom  I  had  previously  met. 
I  declined  the  invitation  to  see  Yuen  Shai  Kai,  as  I  knew  he 
was  in  great  trouble  at  the  time. 

The  bombs  were  thrown  by  a  class  of  students  called  ''The 
Dare  to  Dies."  They  did  not  value  their  lives  at  all.  In  fact, 
decided  definitely  to  die  in  what  they  were  undertaking.  It 
was  said  while  I  was  in  Peking,  and  I  did  not  see  it  con- 
tradicted, that  the  person  who  threw  the  bomb  at  Yuen  Shai 
Kai  received  $40,000  for  the  job  from  one  of  the  Manchu 
Princes  in  the  Forbidden  City.  It  is  a  fact  that  Yuen  never 
returned  to  the  Forbidden  City  after  that  day,  so  it  looks  as 
though  there  might  be  some  truth  in  it. 

In  Tientsin  part  of  a  regiment  of  American  troops  was 
stationed.  They,  along  with  the  troops  from  foreign  nations, 
made  quite  an  army. 

The  bomb  throwers  had  started  a  factory  for  the  manu- 
facture of  bombs,  and  though  the  town  had  been  searched 
everywhere  for  this  factory,  it  was  undiscovered  until  an 
explosion  in  it  occurred,  when  it  turned  out  to  be  quite  close 
to  our  lumber  yard. 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  gave  me  a  reception  at  which 
the  leading  merchants  were  present,  their  large  hall  being  full 
to  overflowing.  When  speaking  there,  the  entire  audience 
remained  standing ,  which  was  a  mark  of  respect  to  our 
country  which  I  had  never  seen  before.  The  hall  was 
beautifully  decorated,  American  flags  predominating. 

A  party  of  thirty-two  students  were  arrested  by  the  French 
authorities,  and  while  they  could  not  convict  them  of  any 
crime,  they  found  bombs  in  their  possession.  They  deported 
them  to  Shanghai  on  the  same  steamer  on  which  I  returned. 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  talking  with  them  and  found  they 
were  all  well  educated  young  men,  but  thought  they  were 
doing  their  country  a  service  and  had  sworn  to  die  in  the 
attempt. 

As  to  whether  they  now  have  a  stable  government  or  not, 
would  say  I  believe  they  have,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  they  have  abandoned  all  of  their  old  forms  of  govern- 
ment and  have  started  entirely  anew  on  a  government  patterned 
after  our  own.     The  importance    of    the    work    they  have 


202  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

undertaken  will  appear  when  you  think  that  one-quarter  of 
the  human  race  are  changing  their  form  of  government.  It 
will  take  some  time  for  them  to  get  everything  running  in 
smooth,  working  order.  I  say  at  least  two  years  time  will  be 
necessary,  but  when  we  come  to  think  of  the  great  changes 
that  have  taken  place  in  the  last  ten  years,  it  looks  as  though 
they  could  accomplish  almost  anything.  Eleven  years  ago, 
an  edict  was  in  existence  to  kill  all  foreigners  and  all  Chinese 
Christians.  Now,  the  majority  of  the  men  at  the  head  of 
the  government  are  Christians. 

In  education,  the  old  system  has  been  abandoned  and  our 
Western  style  of  education  has  been  established.  The  only 
thing  holding  them  back  is  want  of  teachers.  A  constitutional 
form  of  government  has  been  established  in  place  of  the  old 
absolute  monarchy.  Railroads  have  been  built  all  over  the 
country  in  a  way  that  the  most  sanguine  could  never  have 
thought  of.  Post  offices  and  telegraph  offices  can  be  found  all 
over  the  country.  In  about  a  month's  time,  the  queues  of 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  entire  inhabitants  had  been  cut 
off.  The  growing  of  opium  has  been  entirely  abandoned,  and 
feet  binding  is  prohibited  by  law. 

Newspapers  are  to  be  found  now  in  every  city.  Only  a 
few  years  ago  there  was  just  one  Chinese  paper  published, 
the  "Peking  Gazette."  which  is  by  all  odds  the  oldest  news- 
paper in  the  world.    This  publishes  the  official  laws  and  orders. 

As  to  the  business  of  the  country,  during  the  time  of  the 
revolution  it  was  paralyzed  and  to  a  very  great  extent  stopped. 
It  has  gradually  been  recovering,  however,  and  now  a  fair 
amount  is  being  done.  As  to  the  future,  the  increase  in 
business  will  surprise  the  world  in  a  very  few  years. 

In  mining,  practically  nothing  has  been  done,  though  some 
of  the  richest  coal  and  iron  mines  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Yangtse  Valley,  and  I  predict  in  years  to  come  this  valley 
will  be  the  greatest  producer  of  steel  in  the  world.  In  manu- 
facturing, some  little  start  has  been  made  and  no  doubt  this 
will  progress  very  rapidly  under  the  new  government,  as  they 
are  manufacturing  cheaper  than  any  other  country  in  the 
world. 

As  to  the  personality  of  the  new  government,  Yuen  Shai 
Kai,  who  is  President,  is  the  strongest  man  in  China  today. 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  203 

He  is  ably  backed  by  Tang  Shoi  Yei  who  is  always  considered 
to  be  the  brains  of  the  government.  Knowing  him,  personally, 
I  can  vouch  for  his  being  one  of  the  strongest  and  best  men 
I  know  of  in  any  country.  Three  other  members  of  the 
cabinet,  I  know  personally,  have  been  educated  in  this  country, 
so  that  the  majority  of  the  members  of  the  new  government 
have  been  educated  in  America  and  have  American  ideas. 
The  importance  of  this  will  be  seen  when  I  state  that  China 
has  patterned  her  government  after  our  ow-n.  They  have 
already  declared  for  religious  freedom  and  freedom  of  w^orship 
for  all  sects,  and  they  have  adopted  our  calendar.  They 
consider,  and  I  think  rightly  so,  that  America  is  the  best  friend 
they  have  of  all  the  nations,  and  the  opportunity  and  prospects 
for  Americans  to  advance  the  commercial  relations  between 
the  two  nations  could  not  be  better,  and  if  we  do  not  take 
the  lead  in  commercial  relations  of  China  it  is  because  we  do 
not  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  that  is  presented  to  us. 
And  last,  I  would  ask  for  China  that  our  government 
recognize  the  new  republic.  It  is  a  hard  pill  to  swalloW'  for 
European  nations  governed  by  kings  to  recognize  this 
republic,  but  it  is  quite  in  order.  In  fact,  it  is  our  duty  and 
our  privilege  to  promptly  recognize  them,  and  all  other  nations 
will  immediately  fall  in  line. 

On  the  trip  to  the  Philippine  Islands,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  entire  Archipelago  as  very  few^  men  have  had. 
The  government  placed  at  my  disposal  one  of  the  coast  guard 
gunboats  with  the  privilege  of  visiting  any  and  all  places  in 
the  Islands,  so  I  got  a  more  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
Islands  that  I  had  had  before.  What  I  saw  on  this  trip  would 
take  a  whole  evening  to  explain.  Suffice  to  say  that  the  new 
government  is  run  on  business  principles,  and  as  a  result  the 
Philippine  Islands  are  the  only  bright  commercial  spot  in  the 
whole  of  the  Orient  today.  The  improvement  in  recent  years 
has  been  very  great,  so  much  so  that  the  last  two  years'  trade 
and  commerce  has  doubled. 

What  I  said  of  China,  I  can  also  repeat  of  the  Islands. 
Our  people  in  this  country  do  not  understand  or  appreciate 
them.  They  appear  indifferent  about  them,  whereas,  if  people 
knew  the  true  conditions  it  would  be  changed  to  that  of 
intense  interest.     One  way  of  bringing  us   closer  together 


204  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

would  be  a  fast  line  of  steamers  running  from  San  Francisco 
to  Manila.  Except  once  a  month,  it  takes  about  thirty-five 
days  to  make  the  trip  by  way  of  Japan  and  China.  Once  a 
month  only  a  steamer  goes  direct  from  Nagasaki  to  Manila. 
This  is  brought  about  by  the  sad  neglect  of  our  government 
toward  the  Merchant  Marine;  in  fact,  its  total  annihilation 
from  the  face  of  the  ocean,  so  that  we  have  to  put  up  with  any 
service  we  can  get  for  our  letters  to  different  foreign  countries. 

Labor  is  a  great  drawback  to  the  Islands.  Not  that  there 
is  not  enough  there,  but  that  they  will  not  work,  and  when 
they  do  work,  the  results  are  not  satisfactory.  If  a  limited 
number  of  Chinese  were  allowed  to  go  as  laborers  into  those 
Islands,  we  would  have  one  of  the  richest  countries  in  the 
world. 

The  principal  productions  are  hemp,  copra,  and  sugar. 
Copra  alone  advanced  from  14,000  tons  a  few  years  ago  to 
115,000  tons  last  year.  The  production  of  sugar  since  the 
tariff  was  reduced  has  also  increased  very  fast. 

You  hear  a  great  deal  of  talk  of  independence.  I  have 
come  definitely  to  the  conclusion  that  the  people  are  not  fit 
for  independence  and  will  not  be  so  for  many  years  to  come, 
and  the  sooner  our  government  gives  up  the  idea  and  plainly 
tells  the  natives  this  fact,  the  better  it  will  be  for  all  concerned. 
The  Moros  are  the  most  powerful  tribe  on  the  Islands  and 
they  have  notified  our  government  that  the  day  the  Filipinos 
get  their  independence,  that  day  they  will  start  a  war  for 
their  extermination.  Summing  up  the  situation,  which  is 
encouraging  and  on  behalf  of  the  men  who  are  devoting  their 
time  to  develop  those  Islands  politically  as  well  as  com- 
mercially, I  ask  your  favorable  consideration  and  assistance. 


ROBERT  DOLLAR 


205 


CONCLUSION 

San  Francisco,  May,  1912. 

China 

In  summing  up  and  putting  in  short  terse  words  what 
I  learned  by  close  observation  and  by  intercourse  with  the 
merchants  and  those  who  are  now  building  up,  politically,  the 
new  republic,  I  find  that  it  taxes  my  imagination  to  the  utmost, 
looking  from  this  distance  at  the  past  and  thinking  of  the 
future,  to  arrive  at  a  reasonable  conclusion. 

First,  to  consider  the  almost  incredible  change  that  the 
revolution  has  brought  about.  The  old  conservative  and 
stoical  China  changed,  as  if  by  magic,  in  the  short  space  of 
four  months  to  a  new,  progressive  republic.  In  fact,  to  one 
that  is  endeavoring  to  be  the  most  progressive  of  all  the 
republics  of  the  world,  not  only  politically,  but  in  manners  and 
customs  as  well :  Notably  the  cutting  of  queues  and  the 
changing  of  dress,  that  have  been  in  use  for  a  thousand  years ; 
the  insertion  in  their  constitution  of  a  clause  allowing  religious 
freedom,  when  only  eleven  years  ago  the  Empress  Dowager 
issued  her  decree  that  all  Christians  should  be  put  to  death, 
which  resulted  in  the  Boxer  uprising  and  massacre  of  both 
Chinese  and  White  Christians. 

The  Empire  being  without  railroads,  the  telegraph  or 
telephones,  and  practically  without  roads  worthy  of  the  name, 
as  only  paths  were  used,  and  in  the  level  country  where  the 
soil  is  deep  these  paths  were  several  feet  below  the  surface, 
and  in  wet  weather  were  converted  into  creeks.  In  some 
places,  it  is  quite  common  to  see  just  the  heads  of  the  travelers 
from  the  level  of  the  land. 

All  towns  and  cities  are  enclosed  with  stone  or  brick  walls 
from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  high.  These  are  being  demolished 
and  wide  roads  or  boulevards  are  taking  their  place. 

The  old  form  of  education  for  the  favored  few  has  been 
abolished  and  replaced  by  the  modern  American  style  of 
public  grammar  and  high  schools  with  colleges  and  universities 


2o6  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

to  come  later.  Girls  are  being  educated  by  the  thousands, 
and  women  now  have  equal  suffrage,  reciuiring  only  an 
educational  and  property  cjualification  the  same  as  the  men. 

The  increase  in  the  volume  of  business  in  the  post  oftice  is 
greater  than  has  ever  been  recorded  in  any  other  country; 
newspapers  were  unknown  a  few  years  ago;  now  their  circula- 
tion is  over  100,000.000  a  year.  Practically,  the  same  relative 
change  has  taken  place  in  social  and  religious  conditions,  so 
that  I  could  go  on  indefinitely  contrasting  the  past  with  the 
present. 


WHAT   OF   THE    FUTURE  t 

To  write  of  the  future  is  almost  equal  to  prophesying.  I 
have  explained  a  few  of  the  rapid  and  radical  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  the  six  short  years  just  passed;  but,  I 
must  say,  when  I  try  to  think  of  the  future,  I  get  completely 
lost,  so  I  will  leave  prophesying  and  speculation  alone  and 
deal  in  facts  that  cannot  well  be  gainsaid. 

First  and  most  prominent  stands  out  the  fact  that  they  have 
for  a  population  about  one-quarter  of  the  human  race.  It  is 
also  a  fact  that  their  people  are  the  most  industrious,  plodding, 
hard-working  workers  of  the  world. 

Second,  the  fertility  of  the  soil  in  China  is  the  wonder  and 
admiration  of  all  strangers,  and  it  must  be,  as  a  large  part  of 
China  is  not  under  cultivation  and  that  which  is  under 
cultivation  produces  sufficient  for  between  four  hundred 
millions  and  five  hundred  millions  of  people — this  tells  the 
story.  So  far,  they  only  raised  what  is  actually  required  for 
each  locality,  as  the  want  of  roads  and  railroads  has  prevented 
their  shipping  any  surplus  to  the  outside  world.  The  advent 
of  roads  and  railroads  will  change  conditions  entirely,  and 
farmers  will  learn  to  raise  what  will  produce  the  most  money. 

We  now  see  the  result  of  this  in  the  great  sales  of  soya 
beans  and  sesiimim  seed,  the  former  coming  to  market  over 
the  Manchurian  railroads,  and  the  latter  coming  to  Hankow 
over  the  Pei  Han  railroad.  The  production  of  both  of  these 
commodities  is  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Cotton  is 
also  being  raised  in  large  quantities,  the  exports  being  76,595 
tons  last  year.     Many  cotton  mills  are  also  in  operation  and 


ROBERT   DOLLAR  20/ 

consume  large  quantities  of  the  raw  material.  The  soil  is 
adapted  to  growing  this  commodity,  and  with  cheap  labor  and 
an  almost  unlimited  home  consumption,  this  industry  will  grow 
until  it  exceeds  the  production  of  all  other  nations. 

MINERALS 

It  is  in  this  that  China  excels  all  others,  as  no  mining  of 
any  extent  has  been  done  yet  and  all  the  minerals  that  China 
ever  had  still  remain  in  the  ground. 

Coal — A  German  professor,  after  a  careful  examination, 
reported  there  was  more  coal  in  China  than  in  all  the  rest  of 
the  world  put  together.  This  aroused  such  criticism  and 
interest,  that  the  Emperor  of  Germany  sent  three  of  his  most 
celebrated  experts  who  confirmed  the  report;  and  yet,  so  little 
mining  has  been  done,  that  last  year  one  and  a  half  million 
tons  were  imported. 

Iron  Ore  deposits  are  known  to  be  in  all  the  provinces  and 
where  it  has  been  worked,  it  is  of  a  very  high  grade. 

Limestone  is  in  abundance  in  the  same  vicinity,  so  the 
three  great  ingredients  for  making  steel  are  side  by  side,  and 
they  are  close  to  navigable  waters  where  the  largest  steamships 
can  go.  The  history  of  modern  nations  has  taught  us  that 
wherever  all  those  conditions  exist,  especially  when  coupled 
with  an  abundance  of  good  and  cheap  labor,  the  future 
commercial  prosperity  and  greatness  is  assured ;  and  as  to 
conditions  being  as  stated,  there  is  absolutely  no  question, 
so  that  in  time  to  come  we  must  look  forward  to  China  being 
the  greatest  steel  producing  country  in  the  world ;  and  petro- 
leum is  found  in  many  places,  but  not  developed. 

In  a  short  time  railroads  will  be  extended  to  all  the 
principal  cities  of  China,  crossing  the  country  in  every 
direction.  The  Yangtse  river  is  navigable  for  the  largest 
steamships  eight  months  in  the  year  to  Hankow,  proudly 
dubbed  "The  Chicago  of  China,"  700  miles  from  the  ocean 
and  in  the  geographical  center  of  the  country;  so,  with  the 
completion  of  the  railroads,  means  of  communication  will  not 
be  excelled  in  any  country,  and  trade  and  commerce  is  sure 
to  increase  beyond  the  sanguine  expectations  of  the  most 
optimistic. 


208  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

It  is  an  undisputed  fact  that  the  Chinese  are  more  friendly 
to  America  than  to  any  other  country.  I  cannot  too  often  nor 
too  strongly  urge  our  merchants  to  take  advantage  of  the 
great  opportunities  presented  to  us  of  obtaining  our  share  of 
the  trade  which  will  be  the  result  of  China's  prosperity.  Their 
ambition  and  determination  is  to  become  a  great  commercial 
nation.  Even  if  my  ideas  were  discounted  fifty  per  cent,  what 
an  opportunity  still  remains !  To  use  the  words  of  Longfellow, 
"Let  us  then  be  up  and  doing." 

POLITICAL 

A  great  many  people  in  this  country,  but  more  particularly 
in  countries  ruled  by  emperors  and  kings,  are  of  the  opinion 
that  the  republic  has  not  come  to  stay.  Had  they  the  oppor- 
tunity I  have  had  of  seeing  the  fourteen  provinces  rise  as  one 
man  and  declare  for  a  republic,  they  would  be  convinced  that 
the  republic  has  come  to  stay.  I  was  formerly  in  favor  of  a 
limited  monarchy,  but  it  would  have  been  as  easy  to  stop  the 
incoming  tide  as  to  have  prevented  the  establishment  of  a 
republican  form  of  government.  They  have  selected  the  very 
best  men  of  the  Empire  to  form  the  new  government.  Men 
of  great  ability  who  impressed  me  as  being  sober,  in  dead 
earnest  and  capable  of  carrying  the  necessary  responsibilities 
of  this  undertaking. 

If  foreign  nations  keep  their  hands  off  and  do  not  intrigue, 
there  can  be  no  question  nor  doubt  but  that  the  new  republic 
will  be  permanent ;  but,  as  "Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day," 
the  new  government  must  be  given  sufficient  time  to  accomplish 
the  gigantic  task,  that  no  set  of  men  has  ever  before  attempted 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  Give  them  a  good  opportunity  of 
showing  what  they  can  do,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  not  be 
disappointed.  All  I  ask,  is,  suspend  judgment  for  at  least 
three  years. 

We  must  urge  the  United  States  to  recognize  the  new 
republic.  We  should  be  the  first  to  take  such  a  step,  as  we 
are  the  greatest  republic,  and  we  surely  should  be  the  first 
to  extend  to  a  sister  republic,  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  in 
her  hour  of  need.  Our  moral  support  is  certainly  due  to  China 
in  her  struggle  to  get  on  her  feet,  as  she  cannot  expect 
sympathy  or  assistance  from  a  nation  whose  head  is  an 
emperor  or  a  king. 


robert  dollar  209 

Philippine  Islands 

Little  is  known  in  the  United  States  of  our  insular 
possessions.  They  are  much  abused  and  misunderstood,  and 
those  who  talk  the  loudest  against  them,  know  the  least  about 
them.  The  islands  have  been  very  useful  as  a  ball  for 
politicians  to  play  with. 

Three  matters  stand  out  very  prominently  before  me  in 
my  investigations. 

First — The  great  richness  and  fertility  of  the  soil. 

Second — That  it  will  be  impracticable  for  the  United 
States  to  give  them  independence  for  many  years  to  come. 

Third — That  there  is  a  great  scarcity  of  labor.  Not  that 
there  are  not  enough  men,  but  that  the  men  will  not  work. 
This  is  holding  the  islands  back  very  much  and  is  a  serious 
handicap.  There  is  no  valid  argument  against  allowing  a 
reasonable  number  of  Chinese  laborers  to  enter  the  islands  for 
the  purpose  of  developing  the  resources,  subject,  of  course, 
to  limitations  and  restrictions.  If  this  Avere  done  and  sufficient 
capital  available,  the  prosperity  that  would  result  would  be 
a  surprise  to  our  country. 

What  is  wanted  most  is  a  direct  means  of  communication 
from  San  Francisco  to  Manila  so  that  our  people  could  more 
readily  visit  and  get  acquainted  with  the  people  and  conditions. 
Americans  are  invited  and  will  be  shown  the  present  conditions 
and  the  possibilities — not  to  visit  Manila  alone,  but  to  make 
a  trip  to  the  principal  islands  of  the  group  and  see  their 
resources  and  possibilities.  This  trip,  if  taken  at  the  proper 
season,  would  be  both  profitable  and  pleasant  and  I  would 
strongly  recommend  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  to  get  up  an  excursion  of  our  prominent 
commercial  men. 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  Governor  Forbes,  the 
members  of  the  insular  government,  the  Merchants  Associa- 
tion, and  the  commercial  community  in  general,  for  the  great 
kindness  and  courtesies  I  received  at  their  hands  during  my 
recent  visit. 

The  government  has  made  wonderful  improvements  in 
roads,  sanitation,  railroads,  etc.,  but  especially  in  improving 
harbors  and  aids  to  navigation.     I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of 


2IO  PRIVATE  DIARY  OF 

what  they  have  accomphshed,  but  what  they  have  done  has  not 
been  followed  up  by  individuals.  Lack  of  labor,  capital,  and 
want  of  interest  of  our  people  in  this  country  have  not  kept 
up  with  the  energy  and  efforts  of  the  government  to  develop 
the  resources  of  the  islands. 

The  Philippine  government  recognizes  this,  as  it  now  has 
an  able  representative  in  the  United  States,  who  is  endeavor- 
ing to  educate  our  people  to  the  importance  of  what  a 
remarkable  island  empire  we  have.  I  trust  his  efforts  will 
bring  the  desired  results. 


Japan 

The  yellow  press  of  the  United  States,  ably  backed  by 
the  same  class  of  papers  in  Japan,  manage  to  get  up  a  war 
scare  about  twice  a  year.  The  latest  was  the  reported  purchase 
by  Japan  of  a  large  tract  of  land  at  Magdalena  Bay,  Mexico, 
to  be  used  for  a  coaling  station.  The  well-thinking  people 
of  both  nations  should  do  their  best  to  stop  this  unnecessary 
agitation.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  Japan  does  not  want  a 
war  with  us,  and  we  want  to  live  in  peace  and  harmony  with 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  we  can  say  to  Japan  that  the  United 
States  has  no  desire  for  a  war  with  them.  Furthermore,  we 
are  totally  unprepared  for  such  a  contingency. 

The  visit  of  our  commercial  commissioners  and  the  return 
visit  of  the  Japanese  commissioners,  headed  by  the  "Grand 
Old  Man  of  Japan,"  Baron  Shibisawa,  did  a  great  deal  to 
increase  the  friendly  relations  between  the  two  countries,  and 
those  of  us  who  had  the  opportunity  of  frequent  visits  to  Japan 
can  assure  our  people  of  the  continued  friendship  and  good 
will  of  Japan  that  is  apparent  on  all  hands.  Our  commercial 
relations  are  satisfactory  and  good,  and  our  trade  is  increasing, 
so  there  is  every  reason  why  the  good  feeling  and  friendly 
relations  that  so  happily  exist,  should  continue  for  all  time 
to  come.  That  this  is  the  sentiment  and  earnest  wish  of  the 
great  majority  of  the  people,  both  in  the  United  States  and 
Japan,  is  an  assured  fact,  and  our  hope  and  wish  is  that  the 
ties  of  friendship  will  be  drawn  closer  than  ever  and  that  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  each  nation  shall  continue. 


JAM  ■■  - 
DATE  DUE 

CAVLORO 

PRINTED  IN  U.S   A. 

TCUIUINIHL  LIDKAMT   l-AUILIIY 


AA 


001  408  318 


2     DS7J0  D7 

Dollar,  Robert,  1844-J932. 
Private  diary  of  Robert 
Dollar  on  his  recent 
visits  to  China, 


3  12 


0  002 


355 


